Agarkar: 'Don't think Bumrah will be available for all five Tests'

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India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to play all five Tests on the tour of England , which starts on June 20 at Headingley.

Ajit Agarkar, India's chief selector, said Bumrah has been advised by medical staff not to risk playing several consecutive Tests as part of his workload management.

The precautionary measure comes after Bumrah suffered a stress reaction in the back during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney in January. He left the field on the second day and did not bowl for the remainder of the match.

Bumrah missed the 2025 Champions Trophy and made a comeback in April in IPL 2025 for Mumbai Indians, who have qualified for the playoffs.

"I don't think he [Bumrah] will be available for all five Tests, the physios and the doctors have told us," Agarkar said while announcing India's Test squad on Saturday. "Whether it's four or three [Tests], we will see how the series goes and how his body can take the workload. Needless to say how important he is, even if he's fit for three or four Tests, he's going to win us a few Test matches. So we are just glad that he is fit and that little setback that he had in Australia wasn't too bad. He's back playing - I know it's T20 cricket - at the moment, but we've seen what he's doing in the IPL. We are just happy that he's part of the squad."

The upcoming Test series will be Bumrah's third in England where he has 37 wickets in eight matches (excluding the 2021 World Test Championship final), at an average of 23.78 and strike rate of 51.9. If not for his back issue, Bumrah would have been a contender for the Test captaincy once Rohit Sharma retired in April, Agarkar said.

Bumrah has led India in three Tests: in the one-off match at Edgbaston in 2022, in the Perth Test against Australia last year - where he played a central role in India's victory - and in Sydney. He was the vice-captain for the Australia tour, but had to lead the side when Rohit missed the first and fifth Tests of the series.

Agarkar said Shubman Gill was the "unanimous" choice for the Test captaincy among both the selectors and BCCI.

"Booms [Bumrah], because he led in Australia, he was the vice-captain for, but once he's not going to be available for all the Test matches (he couldn't be part of the captaincy conversation)," Agarkar said. "He is more important to us as a player. We want him fit. There's always that extra burden when you are managing 15-16 other people. There's a lot that it takes out of you. We'd rather have him bowling as well as he does than putting that extra burden on him.

"He is aware of it," Agarkar said. "We've had a chat with him and he's okay with it. He knows where his body's at and he'd rather look after himself and be bowling fit. It was more his workload management and having him fit as a bowler, more than anything else."

Having had back surgery in March 2023, Bumrah has been managing his workloads to avoid a career-threatening injury. His workloads, however, peaked on the Australia tour, where he bowled 152.1 overs in five Tests, taking 32 wickets at a strike rate of 28.3 and average of just over 13. Scans in Sydney showed Bumrah had back spasms, but on returning to India, it was deducted he had stress reactions.

Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, who was forced to retire due to chronic back issues, told ESPNcricinfo in March that Bumrah's workloads needed to be managed conservatively to avoid a relapse. If he had another back injury in the same area, Bond warned it could potentially be a career-ender.

Bond said the biggest red flag for fast bowlers is when they transition from T20 to Tests in quick time - the first Test against England begins just 13 days after the IPL ends on June 3. "He's too valuable for the next World Cup and stuff. So you'd be looking at five Tests in England, I wouldn't want to be playing him in any more than two in a row."