"Probably wouldn't even play him in the first Test" - Former KKR spinner's stunning claim on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 series
Former Australia and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Brad Hogg believes Team India should not pick Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI for the upcoming Test series opener against England. The cricketer-turned-pundit stated that he would rest the ace speedster for the first fixture.
Explaining his suggestion, Hogg highlighted that India will need Bumrah's services at venues like Lord's and Edgbaston. He reckoned with his ability to win matches single-handedly, the fast bowler should be saved for crucial encounters.
Speaking to RevSportz, Hogg said:
"You’ve got to be very strategic with those three Test matches. Where are you going to get the most benefit out of him? Because he can turn the game, he can turn the series on its head. So you want to make sure that you play him at Lord’s, definitely, and probably Warwickshire.
"And I don’t know where you’d play him in the other three Test matches, but you want to make sure you play him in those crucial games. I probably wouldn’t even play him in the first Test match, actually. I’d just go, ‘Right, England, we don’t have Bumrah.’ And you could just see England thinking, ‘Oh, they don’t have Bumrah – that’s good, we don’t have to face him.’ But then they’re going to start worrying about him in the second Test match. And if he turns the tide in the second match, then all of a sudden England are playing catch-up. So I’d add a bit of by-play there."
Jasprit Bumrah's workload management has been a major talking point in Indian cricket. The pace spearhead featured in all five Tests of India's Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia in 2024-25.
He enjoyed an imperious run Down Under, finishing as the leading wicket-taker of the rubber, with 32 scalps across nine innings. However, he sustained a back injury in the last Test, which sidelined him from the subsequent 2025 Champions Trophy.
"We don't want to have a predetermined set" - Shubman Gill opens up on Jasprit Bumrah's workload management ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 Tests
India's new Test captain Shubman Gill emphasized that the think tank doesn't have a predetermined approach to Jasprit Bumrah's workload management. He remarked that the team management will take a call based on how much the star speedster has bowled in a particular match.
On being asked by Dinesh Karthik how he would use Jasprit Bumrah in the five-match Test series, here's what Gill said in an interview with Sky Sports (from 6:11):
"Depending on how we go about matches. There might be rain in one of the matches. So, I think it's more based on match-to-match and see how much workload there has been on him. We don't want to have a predetermined mindset set, okay, these are the matches that he would want to play because there are so many factors."
The five-match Test series between India and England kicks off at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday, June 20.