'Nothing matters more to him...': Ex-India coach's big 'workload' verdict on Jasprit Bumrah after Asia Cup selection

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was named in the side's T20I squad for the first time since the T20 World Cup 2024 and will be seen in action in the upcoming Asia Cup. The 31-year-old's inclusion in the team will definitely help in strengthening the bowling department by a massive margin and he will definitely be looking to continue from where he left off in the World Cup last year.

However, even though Bumrah has returned to the side for the continental tournament, there are still question marks over his fitness. The speedster was recently seen featuring for India against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He only played three out of the five Tests so that his workload can properly be managed. This showed that the team management is quite concerned with the 31-year-old's fitness.

Nayar made a massive claim on Bumrah

Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar reacted to Bumrah's selection in the 15-member squad for Asia Cup and backed the latter to perform well in the tournament. He also made a big claim on the speedster, stating that he will be the difference between victory and defeat for the Men in Blue.

ALSO READ: 'He is not going to play...': Ravichandran Ashwin feels this India star's place in the playing XI for Asia Cup is 'under threat'

“We all need to understand that Bumrah is a prized asset. He is the difference between winning and not winning a championship, and that must be respected," Nayar said on JioHotstar.

“His workload and his body must be respected, because when you don’t have him in crucial matches, the impact is massive. Whatever the plan is, no one knows it better than Bumrah himself. He’ll be the best judge of what his body can handle and can communicate that with the selectors and team management. Knowing him and having spent time with him, I can tell you nothing matters more to him than performing well and winning championships for India," he added.

Meanwhile, Bumrah has so far played 70 T20Is for India in his career, clinching a total of 89 scalps. He is the fifth-highest wicket-taker for the side in the format and will be looking to further increase his tally in the Asia Cup. It will be interesting to see in what matches will the 31-year-old play in during the group stages. He will most likely feature in the match against Pakistan, but the selectors may keep him on the bench for the clashes against UAE and Oman.

ALSO READ: 'Team would have looked even stronger...': Harbhajan Singh questions Ajit Agarkar & Co's decision of not picking 'X-factor' star in India's Asia Cup squad

India's squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.