Ajit Agarkar gives his verdict on Jasprit Bumrah’s workload after picking him for the West Indies series

India’s squad for the Test series against the West Indies was announced yesterday. Jasprit Bumrah was surprisingly part of the squad as the fast bowler will play in the Asia Cup final on September 28 and then also feature in the first Test vs West Indies in Ahmedabad from October 2.

There have been workload management concerns around Bumrah and for the same reason, he played three out of five Tests against England too. However, chief selector Ajit Agarkar pointed out that he’s had enough break since the fourth Test vs England with India not playing any series across formats for more than a month.

Moreover, Agarkar also stated that even during the Asia Cup matches, India have had good enough rest with their games spaced out well.

“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,” Agarkar said, confirming that Bumrah will feature in both Tests vs West Indies in the press conference.

Team comes first, says Agarkar

The BCCI Chief Selector also asserted the fact that the team comes first always when it comes to workload management and the decision regarding Bumrah was only taken after consulting with the physios and the coaches. He also lauded the 31-year-old fast bowler for being exceptional across all formats saying that the team wants him available as much as possible.

“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,” Agarkar added.

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