'Missed chance’: Irfan Pathan questions Ajit Agarkar over Jasprit Bumrah’s selection for West Indies Tests

Mayank Bande

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'Missed chance’: Irfan Pathan questions Ajit Agarkar over Jasprit Bumrah’s selection for West Indies Tests image

On Thursday, September 25, India announced their squad for the two-match Test series against the touring West Indies team, which begins from October 2 in Ahmedabad.

As the Shubman Gill-led Indian team kick-starts the short home Test season with the West Indies series, as expected, the selectors have gone with a bowling line-up stacked with spin bowling options, with the notable addition of Axar Patel.

Following the Asia Cup, where India will play the final on September 28, it was expected that pacer Jasprit Bumrah would be rested for the Tests with only 4 days between the competition and the WI series.

However, with Bumrah's inclusion in the squad, former all rounder Irfan Pathan has asked some tough questions to Ajit Agarkar and co. about India's thin fast bowling department.

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Irfan Pathan questions Jasprit Bumrah's selection for West Indies Tests

While analyzing the team selection for the series on his YouTube channel [Irfan Pathan], the former speedster felt the void in the fast bowling depth could have been filled in the series by bringing in some fresh bowlers in the mix.

Further, he elaborated the optimum number of fast bowlers needed for a top Test playing nation to assert domination like India did under Virat Kohli's captaincy in late 2010s.

"There were a lot of talks about Jasprit Bumrah, in terms of how his workload had to be managed in England, where he did not play all the matches. Obviously, management, selectors, physios and all are involved in this. He almost played alternate games. This [WI tour] was a great opportunity to manage his workload. You would not need a lot of overs from him anyway.

"It is a positive that he wanted to play, but secondly, it was a great opportunity for the selectors to groom a young fast bowler. We need new pacers — having 3-4 of them is not enough for a long-term vision — you need a group of around 8 bowlers. It is a missed opportunity by the selectors.

He went on to laud Bumrah's willingness to play Tests at home and to make the format his priority despite the recent injury slump.

Notably, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are the fast bowlers who have not made it to the Test squad as India goes into the series with a spin-heavy bowling lineup.

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Mayank Bande

Mayank Bande has been a content producer at The Sporting News since 2023 and has extensive experience in cricket writing. His work has previously appeared on platforms like OneCricket and Last Word on Sports. Beyond cricket, Mayank closely follows football as an FC Barcelona supporter, along with tennis and Olympic sports. Despite holding a degree in Business Administration, he chose to pursue a career in sports, bringing sharp analysis to his writing as someone who once played cricket.