“We want to respect where his body’s at” - India coach provides massive update on Jasprit Bumrah’s non-selection for ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test

Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate opened up about Jasprit Bumrah's absence from the playing XI for the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval. The right-arm pacer was not part of the proceedings despite the series being on the line after having played three matches already, coupled with a struggling outing in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Bumrah bowled 119.4 overs in the three matches he has played on the tour, and faced an issue with his ankle in his most recent outing. Despite not bowling in the latter stages of the drawn fourth Test, and the fact that both Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir hinted at the possibility of the ace pacer featuring in the series finale, his name was not on the team sheet.

Prasidh Krishna returned to the playing XI in his absence, while Akash Deep also returned from injury to replace Anshul Kamboj to forge India's three-pronged pace attack.

Ryan ten Doeschate stated that the management wanted to stand by their initial claims regarding Jasprit Bumrah's workload and availability.

"I think it is quite a complex issue around Bumrah. We obviously want to wheel him out, we also want to respect where his body's at. On the basis of that, we just felt that it was not worth including him. He has bowled a large number of overs, I know it doesn't seem like that because he has only played three Tests, and he bowled only one innings in Manchester, but if you look at the load, he has bowled a lot," the assistant coach said during the press conference after Day 1 (via Times of India). "He did say coming into the tour he was going to be available for three games, and we just felt it was right to honor that call," he added.

Jasprit Bumrah came into the England series on the back of a near-complete 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign for the Mumbai Indians (MI). He featured in 12 matches in the span of two months, as the franchise progressed well into the playoffs.

"Maybe England have got it spot on" - Team India coach on green top being produced in Jasprit Bumrah's absence in ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Given that there was only a three-day break between the fourth and the fifth Tests of the series, there was only a marginal chance of Bumrah featuring, despite it being a do-or-die fixture for India. After the tame surface at Old Trafford, where only four wickets fell in the final innings, the two heavyweights were welcomed by a green top at The Oval.

Ryan ten Doeschate joked that England were waiting for Bumrah to be out before unleashing a bowling-friendly surface.

"In hindsight, you would love to have him here, but you also would have said if we come here 1-3 down, that we did not use him there. Maybe England have got it spot on, leaving the best bowling wicket for the last Test after he has played three," the coach added.

The Indian batting unit had a tough opening day after being put into bat by England stand-in captain Ollie Pope. The visitors were troubled by the makeshift bowling unit, which reduced them to 153-6 on a rain-marred day. However, an unbeaten partnership for the seventh wicket between Karun Nair and Washington Sundar took the score just over 200, before Stumps.

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Edited by Gokul Nair