Jasprit Bumrah set to play Asia Cup 2025, but BCCI selectors have new plan to manage workload: Report

The suspense over Jasprit Bumrah’s selection for the Asia Cup 2025 is seemingly over after a media report claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to play the senior pacer in the continental tournament, which starts on 9 September in the UAE. With Bumrah missing the two Test matches in England, the last one reportedly due to a knee injury, and the West Indies Test series starting at home on 2 October, there were questions whether the 31-year-old would be picked for the Asia Cup 2025 .

However, the news agency PTI reported on Monday that Bumrah is set to play in the Asia Cup 2025, as there’s still one month to go before the T20 tournament, which will give him enough time to rest and recover for the competition.

BCCI plans selection twist to manage Bumrah

The BCCI selectors, however, could consider keeping him out of the first of the two Tests against West Indies to manage his workload. The Asia Cup final is scheduled for 28 September, while the India vs West Indies Test series starts on 2 October at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Considering the small four-day gap, resting Bumrah for the first Test match is being seen as the best decision to manage his workload.

There’s also an option to rest Bumrah during the entire series, but with valuable World Test Championship points on offer, the BCCI wouldn’t want to take any risk.

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With Bumrah and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh a certainty for the Asia Cup, the focus now shifts to the third pacer. As per PTI, the battle is between Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. Krishna, who did well in the England Test series, also took 25 wickets in the IPL 2025, but Rana has proven to be a partnership breaker and a hit-the-deck pacer.

Gill set for T20I return

Meanwhile, Test captain Shubman Gill’s return to the T20 side looks a formality now, and he may also get the vice-captaincy, as we reported earlier .

“Abhishek Sharma is world’s No. 1 T20 batter in last ICC rankings. Sanju Samson has been fantastic last season with both bat and gloves. So it will certainly be a tough call but Shubman in current form (although in Tests) can’t be ignored. He had a good IPL also. Problem for selectors is, there are too many performers at the top of the order,” a BCCI source told PTI.

India’s possible Asia Cup squad as per news agency PTI: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma/Dhruv Jurel.