After Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli; Jasprit Bumrah drops BIG statement on retirement ahead of England Tests

India is gearing up to face England in a five-match Test Series starting June 20, kicking off their journey in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. Just before the series begins, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirements from Test cricket. Jasprit Bumrah is a key player for India on this tour, but it's been confirmed that he won't be participating in all five matches due to fitness concerns. He has also hinted at a potential retirement.

In a chat with former Australian captain Michael Clarke on his Beyond 23 Podcast, Jasprit Bumrah shared that players need to be smart and selective about how they manage their bodies, noting that it's challenging to maintain the same level of intensity over time. He mentioned that his fitness is good at the moment, but he acknowledged that if he ever feels his passion for the game waning or if his body can't keep up with the demands, he will consider stepping away from his remarkable career.

"This is a sport that I fell in love with. I went to Australia this time, and a lot of youngsters came up to me and tried to copy my [bowling] action. Which is surreal because I used to do that. So yeah, this journey will not always go on, but whenever it ends, I want to give it back to the sport. Because whatever I have and whatever I have learnt in life is through this sport. Thankful to the journey that I have had," Bumrah told former Australia captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.    

Bumrah has been a key player for the Indian teams that made it to the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2019-21, the ODI World Cup 2023, and clinched victory in the T20 World Cup 2024. The star pacer knows that his time in the game isn't endless, and he mentioned that he will hang up his boots the moment he feels his body can't keep up anymore.

"It is tough for any individual to keep playing everything for so long. I have been doing it for a while. But eventually, you have to understand where your body is going and what the important tournaments are, so you have to be a little selective and smart about how you use your body. Obviously, as a cricketer, I would never want to leave anything and always keep on going.     

"At this moment, I am ok. But I don't set goals such as this is the number I should be at. I look at it one day at a time. The journey is going good so far, but the day I realise that the drive is gone or the effort is not there or my body is not holding up, that is the time when you make the decision," added Bumrah.   

India Squad For England Series: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav  

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