Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar believes that Jasprit Bumrah could have played all the Tests on the England tour if he had skipped the last IPL season.
Adding a new dimension to the ongoing debate around Bumrah’s workload management, Vengsarkar said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should have convinced their best pacer not to play in the IPL. This, he feels, would have ensured a fully fit Bumrah for the England series.
India has been cautious with the injury-prone Bumrah, resting him during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Before departing for England, the team had announced Bumrah would play only three out of the five Tests in the series.
Sticking to that plan, India fielded Bumrah in the first, third, and fourth Tests. Vengsarkar had earlier expressed frustration about resting the experienced bowler during the series.
Interestingly, India won the two Tests Bumrah missed. The thrilling series ended in a 2-2 draw. Speaking to the Times of India, Vengsarkar said India could have won the series if Bumrah had been fully fit and fresh. He also explained what should have been done to keep Bumrah in peak condition.
“Considering the importance of the Test series against England and Bumrah’s injury-prone back, BCCI, selectors, and the team management should have advised Bumrah not to play the 2025 IPL. It was very important to have a fully fit and fresh Bumrah for such an iconic series. If I were the chief selector, I would have convinced Mukesh Ambani (owner of Mumbai Indians) and Bumrah that sitting out or playing very few IPL matches was crucial for Bumrah’s England series performance.”
“These kinds of series probably happen once every four years. I believe India will not play a five-Test series before January 2027 (against Australia). This was a historic series, and I had hoped Bumrah would feature in almost all Tests. If that had happened, we could have won the series.”
In this year’s IPL, Bumrah played 12 matches for Mumbai Indians, taking 18 wickets with an economy rate slightly above 6.5 runs per over. On the England tour, he played three Tests and took 14 wickets.
