Should BCCI risk Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj for Asia Cup 2025?

It is not often that the senior Indian team gets a month-long break. With regular cricket going on all the time, the rest days are rare. But India have 37 of them right now. Yet, there are concerns regarding workload management for India’s premier pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. There are shouts that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should rest them at the upcoming ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025. Might it be worth considering whether India should rest them, even with a month-long break?

Arguments for: Why Bumrah, Siraj should be rested for Asia Cup

Even if there’s a 30-odd-day period between the India vs England Test series and the Asia Cup, the two pacers need to be taken care of. As mentioned by Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah is a national treasure. What he can do, nobody else can. Irrespective of the format, Bumrah is the best bowler currently. Look at his performances at the ODI World Cup 2023, T20 World Cup 2024 and in Test cricket.

Hence, India need not risk him for a multi-nation tournament like the Asia Cup, where the second-best ranked T20I team is Sri Lanka, at number seven. India will go as massive favourites at the Asia Cup and, to be fair, considering the talent at disposal, Bumrah might not be needed at all. Earlier this year, India won the entire ODI Champions Trophy without Bumrah, and the conditions for the Asia Cup will be similar.

Similarly, Siraj’s workload needs massive consideration as well. He proved to be a workhorse in the England Test, dishing out 1,113 balls, comfortably the most by any player. He was the only pacer to bowl across all the ten innings, finishing the series as the highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets. Without a doubt he needs more rest. Considering there’s a Test series lined up right after the Asia Cup, Siraj needs to be preserved. He just showed that he can lead a bowling attack now and Siraj needs to be in the Test format.

Arguments against: Why Bumrah, Siraj should play Asia Cup

Okay, if not both, at least one should play the Asia Cup. Even if there’s no dearth of talent in the Indian bowling attack as far as T20Is are concerned, having Bumrah would be game over for other teams. Arshdeep Singh is the leading wicket-taker in the format for the country. To have someone like Bumrah and recreate the T20 World Cup 2024 partnership could be gold dust again for India.

Even Siraj is yet to prove himself in the format. A superb tournament would do a world of good for his confidence, making him a force across formats. What India can do is to opt a rotation policy. Take both the pacers in the squad and keep changing to manage the workload. Siraj can play the league matches, while Bumrah can be an ideal contender to master the knockout games.