IND vs ENG: Jasprit Bumrah to not play all 5 Tests? Head coach Gautam Gambhir makes big revelation ahead of England tour

As India gears up for their tour to England, Shubman Gill stepped into the spotlight as the new Test captain during a pre-departure press conference in Mumbai, joined by head coach Gautam Gambhir. The team, under Gill's leadership, is set to have a warm-up match against India A in an intra-squad game before diving into the highly anticipated India-England Test series, kicking off on June 20. During the press conference, both Gambhir and Gill shared with reporters that they were uncertain about which three matches Jasprit Bumrah would participate in.

"We haven't taken that call, which three games is he going to play," Gambhir said during India's pre-departure press conference in Mumbai. "We are going to have a discussion with him and depending on the series as well. A lot will depend on the results of the series, where the series is heading. That is something which I am sure he is very well aware of as well and that is important."

"I think we have picked enough bowlers and we have enough pace battery and a lot of fast bowlers are in a great space to be able to win us Test matches from any situation or any position," Gill said.

That said, it wouldn't be shocking if Bumrah misses all five Tests. Given the events in Australia earlier this year, it seemed likely that India wouldn't risk their fast bowler in both formats for the entire series.

Bumrah was a standout performer in the Australia series taking an impressive 32 wickets over five matches. Unfortunately, a back injury sidelined him midway through the fifth Test.

When India's Test squad was announced last month, chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that medical staff had advised Bumrah against playing multiple consecutive Tests as part of his workload management. This precaution followed a stress reaction in his back during the fifth Test in Sydney back in January, and he only returned to the field after missing the first four games of IPL 2025 with the Mumbai Indians.

India's 18-man Test squad features other specialist fast bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh, along with seam-bowling allrounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur.

India squad vs England: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

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