"Some players get dropped for this..."- Ajinkya Rahane's bold statement on Jasprit Bumrah's call to play only three tests in England

Jasprit Bumrah played three tests out of five games during the ENG vs IND series.

Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane has heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah for his decision to prioritise his workload management during the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. The right-arm pacer played only three tests during the five-match test series between England and India.

Ahead of the series, the senior Indian pacer was advised to play only three out of five tests. He played the first test at Headingley, the third test at the Lord’s and the fourth test in Manchester.

At an average of 26.0, the 31-year-old pacer clinched 14 wickets across three games during the series. He also registered marvellous five-wicket hauls in the first and third tests, however, India lost both the games. Eventually, the five-match test series ended in a 2-2 draw.

Ajinkya Rahane lauds Jasprit Bumrah’s decision on workload management

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rahane said he liked how Bumrah clarified his decision to play only three games to the management ahead of the series. Rahane noted that sometimes players get dropped for such acts.

“What I liked about the Bumrah situation was that he was pretty clear; he knew what he wanted to do before the series. He said, ‘I’ll play the first one, I won’t play the second one, and then I’ll play the third,” he said.

“Great clarity for a captain. It shows that he has the courage to tell the captain and management to be really clear. Sometimes players convey the same message to the team, and then they get dropped,” Rahane added.

Notably, Bumrah has been advised by the medical team and doctors to reduce his workload. Due to the heavy workload during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, Bumrah sustained an injury and had to go through rehabilitation after the conclusion of the series.

As a result, he was ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which took place in February-March. Bumrah is currently ranked No.1 test bowler in ICC rankings.

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