No player in Indian cricket is managed as carefully as Jasprit Bumrah, and 2026 has been a case study in why.
A Year of Selective Absences
- Rested entirely for India’s T20I tours of Ireland and England in July
- Ruled out of the two-Test series in Sri Lanka in August due to a knee issue in his left leg
- Returned for the T20I series against Afghanistan in September, playing his last T20I on September 17
- Recalled for the Asian Games squad, departing with the team for Japan in late September
Why the Caution
Bumrah remains the world’s top-ranked Test bowler and one of the most important players across all three formats, which makes every absence a deliberate workload decision rather than a form issue. His fitness has been a recurring talking point throughout India’s packed 2026 calendar, referenced in our piece on India’s current injury list.
The Numbers That Matter
Bumrah remains the first Indian bowler to reach 100 wickets in all three formats and the first bowler in history to top the ICC rankings across Tests, ODIs and T20Is simultaneously. Those achievements are why his management is treated with such care, even at the cost of missing high-profile fixtures.
What Comes Next
His return for the Asian Games alongside Shreyas Iyer’s squad gives India their most potent bowling option back for a tournament they are defending, one of the storylines running through our roundup of India’s biggest September headlines.