As India gear up to face the UAE in their Asia Cup 2025 opener on Wednesday, the spotlight has fallen on Jasprit Bumrah’s return. The pace spearhead is likely to feature after sitting out the final two Tests in England, but his selection has once again ignited debate over workload management. Bumrah’s absence from the Lord’s and Oval Tests had already raised questions, and with India’s packed schedule across formats in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, concerns about how he is handled remain. This will also be his first white-ball appearance for India since the last T20 World Cup. Not everyone is convinced about his immediate comeback. Ajay Jadeja, speaking on Sony Sports Network, joked that he would go on strike if Bumrah played against the UAE. He questioned the logic of deploying India’s strike bowler in a relatively low-pressure game, suggesting this is the kind of match where he could have been rested.
Poll
Should Jasprit Bumrah play in the opener against UAE?
Irfan Pathan shared a slightly different perspective. The former all-rounder argued that if a player is in the squad, he should be available for the entire series and not just select games. He felt that chopping and changing only harms the rhythm. Pathan backed a bowling attack built around Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel, supported by Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube for depth. In his view, if India extend their batting till No. 8, there may be no room for Kuldeep Yadav.
