Why is Jasprit Bumrah not playing IND vs NZ 2024 3rd Test?

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the third and final Test against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, October 1. Mohammed Siraj has replaced Bumrah in the playing XI.

In a statement released on X, BCCI said that Bumrah was suffering from illness.

“Jasprit Bumrah has not fully recovered from his viral illness. He was unavailable for selection for the third Test in Mumbai,” the statement read.

Interestingly, Bumrah has yet to play a Test in Mumbai. He picked up six and three wickets in the first and second Test against the Kiwis, respectively. The hosts, however, lost the game by eight wickets and 113 runs to go 0-2 behind in the three-match Test series.

On the other hand, Siraj returned to the XI after being dropped from the second test. The Hyderabad pacer scalped just two wickets in the first Test in Bengaluru. He has bagged three wickets in his only Test at Wankhede Stadium, which came against the Kiwis.

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“Booms is very important to us and his workload will always be something on our mind” – Abhishek Nayar on Jasprit Bumrah

Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar recently spoke about the importance of workload management for Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia later this month.

He said (via ESPNcricinfo):

"In the two Test matches that he's bowled [against New Zealand] around 20-25 overs. So he hasn't bowled a lot."

"Yes, there will always be a thought process about his workload. Also we played two games that we've not had five-day cricket, it's more three, three-and-a-half. So he's got ample rest. But Booms is very important to us and his workload will always be something on our mind," he added.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir also echoed similar sentiments to Nayar regarding Bumrah. He said in the same interaction:

“I think we know how the weather is in Mumbai, so obviously he needs to conserve his energy as well.”

Apart from India, Tom Latham's New Zealand made two changes. Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi replaced Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner, respectively. The visitors will now look to complete a 3-0 clean sweep over the Men in Blue, who would be aiming for a consolation victory in the third Test to boost their WTC chances.

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