Jasprit Bumrah Confirms Availability for Asia Cup 2025

The All India Men’s Senior Selection Committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will meet on Tuesday, August 19, to finalize India’s 15-member squad for the Asia Cup. The tournament starts on September 9 with eight teams taking part. Ahead of the meeting, pacer Jasprit Bumrah has confirmed that he is fit and available to play, which comes as a big boost for head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav.

Bumrah Declares Fitness Ahead of Asia Cup Squad Selection

According to the Indian Express, Bumrah has already informed the selectors about his willingness to play the tournament. Hence, he is all but set to be named in the squad.

“Bumrah has informed the selectors that he will be available for the Asia Cup selection. The selection committee will meet and discuss it when they meet next week,” the Indian Express quoted a source as saying.

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign on September 10 with a match against the UAE. The much-awaited clash with Pakistan is scheduled for September 14 in Dubai. In Group A, India are joined by UAE, Pakistan, and Oman, while Group B features Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.

Since the end of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, Jasprit Bumrah has been in the spotlight, with many former Indian cricketers criticising him for not playing all five Test matches.

Bumrah Played Only Three Tests in the Series

Even before the start of the five-match series, it was made clear that Bumrah would just play three games due to workload management. However, the 31-year-old faced scrutiny following India's win at the Oval without him. Mohammed Siraj and his playing all five games were used by some to put Bumrah under the scanner.

Jasprit Bumrah was released from the Test squad before play began on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test at The Oval. He had earlier featured in the first Test at Headingley, the third at Lord’s, and the fourth at Manchester. Across the series, he bowled a total of 119.4 overs and picked up two five-wicket hauls.

Manjrekar doubts Bumrah’s spot in team over fitness issues

Bumrah, the No.1 Test bowler in the world, played all five Tests against Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, he suffered a back spasm in the final Test in Sydney. This led to him being ruled out of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025, which India eventually won.

“If he cannot play more than two matches in a row or sometimes even more than one, he must not be your frontline pick. Players who are match fit, eager, keen to play and perform should be picked any day for me over a highly skilled player. It will motivate such enthusiastic players even more,” Manjrekar wrote.

"This is not an idealistic position to take, but it’s the right one for the long-term health of a team sport," he added.

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