Ajit Agarkar and the rest of the All India Men’s Senior Selection Committee will convene on Tuesday, August 19, to pick the 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Ahead of the all-important meeting, pacer Jasprit Bumrah has confirmed his status for the eight-team tournament, beginning September 9. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav have received a major shot in the arm as Bumrah has confirmed his availability for the tournament.
According to the Indian Express, Bumrah has already informed the selectors about his willingness to play the tournament. Hence, he is all but set to be named in the squad.
“Bumrah has informed the selectors that he will be available for the Asia Cup selection. The selection committee will meet and discuss it when they meet next week,” the Indian Express quoted a source as saying.
India will play their first match of the Asia Cup on September 10 against the UAE. The marquee contest against Pakistan will happen on September 14 in Dubai. India, UAE, Pakistan and Oman are placed in Group A, while Group B comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong.
Ever since the conclusion of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, Jasprit Bumrah has been in the thick of the action as several former India cricketers have criticised the pacer for not being available for all five Tests.
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Even before the start of the five-match series, it was made clear that Bumrah would just play three games due to workload management. However, the 31-year-old faced scrutiny following India’s win at the Oval without him. Mohammed Siraj and his playing all five games were used by some to put Bumrah under the scanner.
Bumrah was released from the Test squad before the start of play on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test at the Oval. The pacer played in Headingley (first Test), Lord’s (third Test) and Manchester (fourth Test).
In the entire series, he returned with two five-wicket hauls, bowling 119.4 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah injury concerns
Bumrah, the No.1 Test bowler in the world, played all five Tests against Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, he suffered a back spasm in the final Test in Sydney. This led to him being ruled out of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, which India eventually won.
The pacer also missed the initial few matches of the IPL 2025 season for the Mumbai Indians. Earlier on Saturday, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, in a column for the Hindustan Times, wrote that the management should look past Bumrah if he is not available for all games in a series.
“If he cannot play more than two matches in a row or sometimes even more than one, he must not be your frontline pick. Players who are match fit, eager, keen to play and perform should be picked any day for me over a highly skilled player. It will motivate such enthusiastic players even more,” Manjrekar wrote.
“This is not an idealistic position to take, but it’s the right one for the long-term health of a team sport,” he added.