With the qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2024-25 final still up for grabs, India will be eager to finish the three-match Test series against New Zealand on a high at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and Jasprit Bumrah, the premier pacer across formats for the Blue Brigade, will be one of the biggest weapons.
The plan for the team management was to give Jasprit Bumrah a break from the second Test in Pune, but a defeat at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during the opening game didn’t offer them the chance. Now, with the series already being out of hand and a vital five-match red-ball series in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 awaiting, they could take that chance.
Since the end of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America, the Ahmedabad-born missed the away Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka series and was expected to be kept in the cotton wool during their home summer. But he turned up for both the games against Bangladesh in Chennai and Kanpur before playing two more against the Kiwis.
Jasprit Bumrah returns home before 3rd Test vs New Zealand in Mumbai
However, the reports have claimed that Jasprit Bumrah is expected to be rested for the final game to allow him ample time to recover before the team flies to Australia on November 10 for the BGT 2024-25. The bowler, reportedly, has already flown back to home on Wednesday night.
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“He won’t be playing the Mumbai Test and has flown back home. The Indian team management wanted him to take some rest so that he could recover his body. He will now join the Indian team when the team departs for Australia.” The reports on Indian Express expressed.
The 30-year-old has picked up 173 wickets in 40 Tests for the national side at an average of around 20 and a strike rate of 44.6 with the help of ten five-wicket hauls at a best bowling figure of 6/27. In the ongoing year, the fast bowler has bagged 41 wickets in 18 innings at an average of 16.46 and a strike rate of 31.56.
In the Tests down under, Jasprit Bumrah has been part of seven encounters where he has pocketed 32 wickets at an average of over 21 and a strike rate of more than 50 with the help of 6/33 as his best inning bowling figure.
“I think he’s (Bumrah) just done his preparations; I think we know how the weather is in Mumbai so, obviously, he needs to conserve his energy as well. So he’s done his bowling, he’s prepared well, and he’s fine. That’s why he’s a senior player, he knows how much he needs to prepare for the Test match.” The Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, replied when asked about the rare training of the pacer two days before the game.
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The pacer wasn’t needed to bowl a lot in Pune on a slow and low turner, where the big chunk of bowling was done by Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar. That should keep the pacer fresh for the upcoming few weeks.
The first game of the BGT 2024-25 will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth before they take a seven-day break before the second and third Test. After another Christmas break, the last two games- Boxing Day and New Year’s Test will take place, and Jasprit Bumrah will have to bowl out of his skin to allow India to get the upper hand in the series.