&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Get serious about Tests’: BCCI tells Team India; board asks Bumrah to play all WTC games – Report")
The Indian Cricket Board has had enough of players, including A-listers, taking Test cricket lightly, as the World Test Championship (WTC) ranking suggests. Sitting in the sixth place with four losses and as many wins in nine contested matches, India’s Test side is far from attaining the top two spot to qualify for the finals next year. With plenty at stake, the BCCI has urged the Indian Team to start taking Test cricket seriously. Moreover, the latest reports also suggest that the board has apparently asked ace quick Jasprit Bumrah to play all WTC matches, even at the cost of him missing some ODIs.
Managing Bumrah’s workload has always been a topic of discussion within the BCCI and the team management. While his fitness has always been paramount and fragile (at the same time), with the decision-makers preparing his playing chart beforehand, the board has realised to draw a line and choose formats.
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Considering that the 2027 WTC Final is scheduled in June next year, the BCCI wants to prioritise it while also keeping an eye on the ODI World Cup three months later.
After IPL 2026 and barring the one-off Test against Afghanistan (in June), Team India would mostly be occupied with white-ball cricket until the away tour of New Zealand in October (schedule not released yet) comes across and then the home five-match Border-Gavaskar series against Australia early next year. Even though they have a plethora of ODIs and T20Is scheduled in between this, including several away and home tours, the BCCI would want to keep Bumrah fit for all Tests leading up to the WTC Final (should India qualify).
“The attempt is to keep Bumrah fit enough to play all Tests. He is expected to play the four Tests in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The challenge will be to keep him fresh for the five Tests at home against Australia. The selectors won’t mind resting him for some ODI series. He played T20 cricket after a gap of two years in the Asia Cup last Sept and still delivered,” a BCCI source close to the information revealed, as quoted by Times of India (TOI).
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‘Get serious about Tests’
While India’s white-ball cricket continues to prosper, with the ODI and T20I units winning respective ICC events since 2024, Tests are where the former number-one side is lagging.
“The idea is to get serious about Tests. The Afghanistan Test may be outside the WTC cycle, but there’s nothing like match practice. The top players will be assessed, and a call on them will be taken accordingly,” the source continued.
