India’s superstar pacer Jasprit Bumrah , while giving his opinion on England’s aggressive brand of cricket, which is famously termed as ‘Bazball’, said that he finds it interesting but doesn’t understand it much. Team India is embarking on a new era in Test cricket, with Shubman Gill stepping into a leadership role with able hands of experience like KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah to guide him .
This transition comes at a challenging time, with just few days to the start of India’s tour of England. With a relatively inexperienced batting lineup, notably without the stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, massive responsibilities will fall upon the bowling department, which is set to be led by the formidable Jasprit Bumrah.
Top-ranked Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah believes that playing red-ball cricket in England always presents a different challenge, adding that he is keen to bowl with the Dukes ball and counter the task of picking wickets when the ball gets softer. Jasprit Bumrah, the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the Year in 2024, will take the field for India when they begin their important five-match Test series against England at Leeds on June 20.
Jasprit Bumrah’s stellar record in Test and England
In his Test career to date, Jasprit Bumrah has played 45 matches to date in his Test career and he took 205 wickets, with an average of 19.40, conceding nearly 2.77 runs per over with a best individual figure of 6 for 27. In Jasprit Bumrah’s ODI career, has played 89 matches to date in his Odi career and he took 149 wickets, with an average of 23.55, conceding nearly 4.60 runs per over with a best individual figure of 6 for 19.
Jasprit Bumrah has played 70 matches to date in his T20 career and he took 89 wickets, with an average of 17.74, conceding nearly 6.28 runs per over with a best individual figure of 3 for 7. Jasprit Bumrah is currently ranked 1st in the ICC Test bowling rankings with a total of 908 points. Jasprit Bumrah is ranked 40th position in the ICC T20 bowling rankings with a total of 523 points.
So far, Jasprit Bumrah has picked 37 wickets in nine Tests in England at an average of 26.27. With Bumrah set to lead a fast-bowling attack featuring Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh in England, he expressed faith over the rest of the pacers coming good in the Test series.
Ashish Nehra makes a sensational claim on star speedster Jasprit Bumrah
Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra rubbished the idea of having a set plan for the matches Jasprit Bumrah would play in the upcoming five-Test series in England, starting at Leeds on June 20. With India set to adopt a workload management strategy to maintain Bumrah’s fitness, recent reports suggest that the ace pacer is likely to play the first, third, and fifth Test.
The 31-year-old played the first four Tests of India’s latest series in Australia at the end of last year. However, he suffered a back injury during the fifth Test in Sydney, preventing him from participating in the entire second innings.
Jasprit Bumrah also missed India’s next few white-ball games, including the 2025 Champions Trophy and the first few IPL 2025 matches before returning from injury. Talking to the media on the eve of the first India-England Test about Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management, Nehra said (via Hindustan Times):
“On Bumrah’s workload, the judge won’t be Gill, it will be the fast bowler himself. On some occasions, we have seen Bumrah picking up five wickets in 12-13 overs. That’s how skilful he is. It’s the bowler who will tell the physio and the captain on how his body is coping. You can’t script this, this is not a movie.”
He continued:
“I have been hearing that Bumrah will play the 1st, 3rd and the 5th Test. But what if it rains in the first Test? You can’t make these plans well in advance. Who knows, he may feel good to play back-to-back Tests.”
Jasprit Bumrah has been in red-hot form in the Test format, picking up an incredible 73 wickets in 14 matches since the start of 2024 at an average of 15. Jasprit Bumrah confirmed that he would likely play three of the five Tests in the upcoming England series. The champion pacer boasts an outstanding red-ball record in England, picking up 37 wickets at an average of 26.27 in nine outings.
In the build-up to the series, Jasprit Bumrah spoke about his workload management on Sky Cricket, saying (via India Today):
“I’m definitely looking at playing three Test matches. That’s the plan for now. Obviously, the exact number is not fixed yet, but the first one is certainly on. We’ll have to see how things go — the workload, the match scenarios, all of that. But yes, at this moment, three Tests is what I feel I can manage comfortably without putting myself in a desperate situation.”
Team India are looking to break an 18-year drought in England, with their last Test series win on English soil coming in 2007. The five-match Test series against England will start from June 20 to July 4 and will be played in five venues for nearly two months.The first Test will be played in Leeds, then in Birmingham before moving to London’s iconic Lord’s, and the last two Tests will be played in Manchester and The Oval.
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