First Shami and now Bumrah – Chief selector Agarkar warns fans of double blow in ENG Tests
During an official presser in Mumbai on Saturday (May 24), chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained what stopped them from promoting Bumrah from vice-captain to captain.
The BCCI men’s selection committee named a potent 18-man squad for the away England Tests starting June 20 in Leeds. While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are absent owing to their Test retirements earlier in May, India will also miss its premier quick, Mohammed Shami, for the five-match series. Ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack; however, chief selector Ajit Agarkar has warned the fans of a possible blow during the two-month red-ball cricket show.
Bumrah was India’s vice-captain on its last away tour Down Under; even though Rohit captained the side in three matches, he missed two games for separate reasons, with Bumrah leading India in his absence. The pacer helped India win the series opener in Perth but failed to guide them home in the final game at the SCG, where he left the field early on day two with back stiffness.
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The right-arm quick remained out of action for nearly four months, missing the home white-ball leg against England, the 2025 Champions Trophy and several games for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025. Bumrah returned to action midway through the tournament, helping Mumbai claw their way back into this season and into the playoffs.
Meanwhile, coming off another back injury that kept him away for a few months, the selectors and the BCCI’s medical team have warned him against playing all matches on the England tour, like how it happened against Australia, where, after playing four matches on the trot, his back gave up in the final game.
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During an official presser in Mumbai on Saturday (May 24), chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained what stopped them from promoting Bumrah from vice-captain to captain.
"Booms [Bumrah], because he led in Australia, he was the vice-captain for, but once he's not going to be available for all the Test matches (he couldn't be part of the captaincy conversation)," Agarkar said.
"He is more important to us as a player. We want him fit. There's always that extra burden when you are managing 15-16 other people. There's a lot that it takes out of you. We'd rather have him bowling as well as he does than putting that extra burden on him.
"He is aware of it. We've had a chat with him, and he's okay with it. He knows where his body's at, and he'd rather look after himself and be bowling fit. It was more his workload management and having him fit as a bowler, more than anything else,” Agarkar continued.