"We want him available as much as possible, but the team comes first": Agarkar on balancing Bumrah's workload

New Delhi [India], September 25 (ANI): Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has confirmed that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be available for both matches of the upcoming home Test series against West Indies, starting October 2 in Ahmedabad.

India will play two Test matches against West Indies.

Speaking on Bumrah’s readiness, Agarkar said, “He’s available for both the Test matches. We’ve had a fair break after England. In fact, he didn’t play the fifth Test either. So there’s been a bit of a month or five weeks of break and even this tournament has been fairly spaced out till this last week. So, no, he’s ready and keen to play both Test matches.”

India are set to play the Asia Cup final on September 28 before taking on West Indies in the opening Test just few days later. Despite the short turnaround, Agarkar stressed that Bumrah is fully fit and raring to go.

On the subject of workload management, the chief selector acknowledged the importance of balancing Bumrah’s fitness with India’s packed schedule.

“Normally, we discuss this with the physios and the coaches, and obviously, we want the best for him, but the team will always come first. That is always the case. He’s a terrific performer. So we want him available as much as possible, but we have to be careful with him with some of the big tournaments coming as well, but like I said, the team always comes first,” he noted.

With Bumrah fit and available, India will begin their World Test Championship (WTC) campaign at home against the West Indies with their premier fast bowler leading the attack. India earlier started this new WTC campaign in a 2-2 draw against England.

India squad: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)

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