Bumrah opts out of final Test against England

AHMEDABAD: Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will miss the fourth and final Test against England, beginning here on Thursday, as he was released from the Indian squad, owing to personal reasons. The BCCI said no addition to India’s squad will be made for the final Test at Motera. “Jasprit Bumrah made a request to BCCI to be released from India’s squad ahead of the fourth Test owing to personal reasons,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a media release on Saturday.

AHMEDABAD: Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will miss the fourth and final Test against England, beginning here on Thursday, as he was released from the India squad due to personal reasons.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that no addition to India’s squad would be made for the final Test at Motera. “Jasprit Bumrah made a request to the BCCI to be released from India’s squad ahead of the fourth Test owing to personal reasons,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a media release on Saturday.

“Accordingly, the fast bowler has been released and he will not be available for selection for the fourth Test.” The India team is leading the four-match Test series 2-1. Bumrah has already been rested for the T20 international series, beginning March 12 here, as part of the team’s extensive workload management programme. The 27-year-old pace-bowling spearhead has been more or less inside a bio-secure bubble since the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 pre-season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August last year. After IPL, he straightaway went to Australia along with the team, where India clinched a historic Test series win.

Bumrah took 11 wickets from three matches in Australia and did not play in the series-clinching Brisbane Test due to an abdominal strain. In the ongoing series against England, Bumrah picked up four wickets in the first Test in Chennai that India lost by 227 runs. He was rested for the second game, also in Chennai, which the home side won by 317 runs.

Bumrah did not take any wicket in the third Test here as the spin duo of Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin ran riot with the ball.