“The first Test is definitely on” - Jasprit Bumrah confirms his availability for first Test vs England

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who would be part of only three Tests against England in the five-match Test series, has confirmed that he would definitely be available for selection for the first Test, scheduled to start on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.

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Notably, India will take on England in the five-match Test series in the new World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. With the absence of veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the selection committee has appointed Shubman Gill as the new Test captain.

At the squad announcement, the chief selector Ajit Agarkar had already confirmed that Bumrah will not play more than three out of the five matches against England. While the reporters asked Gautam Gambhir on which three Tests Bumrah will take part, he didn’t clearly specify his availability. 

Nevertheless, Bumrah himself has made clear that he will be available for selection for the Headingley Test, starting on June 20. Moreover, the key pacer stated that he is not sure about the other two Tests which he will take part in.

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“Three Test matches is what I’m looking at. Obviously, the numbers (which Tests) aren’t decided. The first (Test) is definitely on. Yes, that is going to happen. Rest; we see how things are. What is the workload, and what are the scenarios going on. Three test matches are what I can manage at this moment, and I don’t want to be in a desperate scenario,” Bumrah told Sky Sports Cricket.

Furthermore, Bumrah also talked about the reason behind not taking up Test captaincy on a permanent basis. He asserted that it won’t send a good message to the team if he sits out of 40% of the matches and leads the team.

“If I had been the captain, I can’t say I would only play three matches. That doesn’t send a good message to the team. Keeping all of these things in mind, I’m trying to give my best as a player and trying to contribute to the best of my capacity, and hopefully in the games that I play I give it my absolute best,” Bumrah added.

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