India’s ODI squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour may not feature Jasprit Bumrah, with the team management likely to keep the pacer fresh for the two-match Test series that follows the one-dayers.
The Test series is crucial to India’s chances of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final, making Bumrah‘s availability for the red-ball leg a priority.
Bumrah last played during the recent Asian Games in Japan, having made his competitive return in a T20I series against Afghanistan following a nearly two-month layoff due to a knee injury.
“Bumrah is completely fit, but for a long tour, it’s important to prioritise,” timesofindia.com quoted a source as saying. “The Test series is very important, so there’s no point making Bumrah slog it out
in the ODIs and then suddenly shift focus to red-ball cricket.”
The decision to rest Bumrah is also being considered with next year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in mind, when India will host Australia for a five-Test series. The team management does not want to use the 32-year-old in what it considers “inconsequential bilaterals”.
“The plan is not just for New Zealand, but discussions are also happening for the BGT next year. There is no point wasting Bumrah for inconsequential bilaterals. Right now, the WTC is the focus, and all energies will be directed at planning for that,” the source said.
Five ODIs followed by two Tests
India’s tour of New Zealand will begin on October 22 with a five-match T20I series, followed by five ODIs starting November 4.
The Test leg of the tour will begin on November 19, just three days after the fifth ODI.
To help Bumrah get back into red-ball mode, however, he could feature for India A against New Zealand A in the third unofficial Test of their three-match series.
Bumrah has largely stayed away from one-day cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup final. He returned to the ODI side against England earlier this year in July, taking one wicket for 31 runs in nine overs.
He played one more ODI before being ruled out of the final match after sustaining an impact injury to his left knee while fielding in the second game of the three-match series.
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