India’s Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of fourth Test against England

The fast bowler has been released by the BCCI due to personal reasons

Jack Rathborn
Saturday 27 February 2021 10:11 GMT
Comments
India will be without Jasprit Bumrah for the fourth Test
India will be without Jasprit Bumrah for the fourth Test (Getty)

Jasprit Bumrah is out of the fourth and final Test against England with India’s star bowler released from the squad for personal reasons.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) confirmed that the right-arm seamer, who took four wickets in the first test in Chennai and was rested for the second Test, had requested to be omitted from the squad.

Bumrah was back in action at his home ground in Ahmedabad for the third Test, which India won by 10 wickets inside two days to seize a 2-1 series advantage with one match remaining, going wicketless in six first-innings overs for 19 runs.

And now the hosts will now be without one of the world’s finest fast bowlers for the deciding encounter.

“Jasprit Bumrah made a request to BCCI to be released from India’s squad ahead of the fourth test owing to personal reasons,” the board said in a statement.

“Accordingly, the fast bowler has been released and he will not be available for selection for the fourth test.”

READ MORE: England down and out after chaotic and catastrophic defeat

India have decided not to add any player to cover for his absence for the final test, also in Ahmedabad from Thursday.

Bumrah had a limited role in the third test, where spinners Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin wreaked havoc with the pink ball and India did not feel the need to bowl any of their seamers in England’s second innings.

In his absence, Mohammed Siraj will hope to be Ishant Sharma’s new-ball partner in the final match.

A draw in Ahmedabad will be enough for India to win the series and book their place in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship against New Zealand in June.

Reuters contributed to this report

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in