"I have a feeling he will play one, two, and four" - Former RCB batter's interesting take on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels that Team India will unevenly distribute Jasprit Bumrah's workload during the England Tests. The team management have already revealed that the pace spearhead will not be available for all five matches during the five-match series due to injury concerns.

Jasprit Bumrah recently returned from an injury to feature for the Mumbai Indians (MI) during the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). He had missed the start of the tournament, as well as Team India's triumphant 2025 Champions Trophy campaign in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The pacer had sustained a back injury towards the end of the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, where he featured in all five matches. Despite his undeniable importance to the bowling attack, Team India will have to be cautious regarding his workload going forward to avoid a similar debacle and a potential long-term injury.

Dinesh Karthik opined that Team India will push Bumrah for the first two matches, before resting him for the third and bringing him back for the fourth Test. He also feels that the pacer could be persuaded to play the series finale as well, should the five-match affair go down to the wire.

""I have a feeling from hearing whatever I heard that he has been played to play three Test matches. But I have a feeling he will play one, two, and four. These are the numbers that I look at because these are the Tests enough and more breaks. When you go to the fourth Test, if you are 2-1 behind or 1-2 ahead, whatever it could be, I wouldn't be surprised if the fifth Test becomes a bit of a request to him, saying, please, can you think about it," Dinesh Karthik said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast (via NDTV).

The first two matches of the series are scheduled to take place in Leeds and Birmingham. If Team India follows the aforementioned template, then Bumrah will be rested for the crucial third Test at Lord's, before returning for the penultimate Test of the series in Manchester.

Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the fourth Test during the home series against England in 2024

A similar conundrum regarding Jasprit Bumrah's workload had emerged when England toured India for a five-match series in early 2024. The Men in Blue losing the series opener in Hyderabad hampered their plans as the pacer had to feature for three matches in a row, and was only rested after the series lead was attained.

He was not included in the playing XI for the fourth Test in Ranchi as Akash Deep made his debut. The ace pacer returned to the mix for the series finale in Dharamshala as India secured a 4-1 win.