Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has advised the Indian team management, headed by Gautam Gambhir, to properly manage ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s workload ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup 2027.
Speaking to the Indian reporters on Sunday, former Indian all-rounder Shastri reckoned that Bumrah shouldn’t play all three formats until the mega event next year in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
“I don’t think he should play all three formats till the ODI World Cup,” Shastri told Indian media on Sunday.
Further, Shastri asserted that the ace pacer Bumrah should prioritise the longest format and play sporadically between ODIs and T20 cricket, giving utmost importance to the red-ball format.
“He should play Test cricket and should play sporadically between one-day internationals and T20 cricket. He also shouldn’t be playing the whole lot,” he added.
“I would rather preserve him for the Test matches. That’s very important. He becomes a key member of that Indian side. Then he should be used sparingly in the other formats,” he concluded.
It’s worth noting that Bumrah returned to the Test squad for the forthcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand. He recently missed the two-match Sri Lankan Test tour after reporting left knee discomfort and swelling, which he sustained during the England ODI series in July 2026.
India’s Test squad vs NZ: Shubman Gill [C], Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul [VC], Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant [WK]*, Dhruv Jurel [WK], Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Note: *Subject to fitness clearance
NZ vs IND Test Series Schedule:
First Test, 19-23 November, Wellington
Second Test, 27 November-1 December, Christchurch
