New Delhi: After the T20 World Cup victory at home, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has started planning for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. The Men in Blue will play nine Test matches in the ongoing cycle, two each in Sri Lanka and New Zealand this year, before Australia tour India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in January.
India will also play a one-off Test match against Afghanistan in Chandigarh in June, but that game won’t be part of the WTC cycle. According to a Times of India (TOI) report, the BCCI is planning to manage Jasprit Bumrah’s workload and wants him to play all matches in the coming season.
Bumrah likely to be rested from ODIs
The BCCI is prioritising reviving India’s chances in the ongoing WTC cycle, even though there is a buzz about the ODI World Cup 2027, but the board won’t mind resting Bumrah from some ODI series.
The Men in Blue are currently placed sixth in the WTC points table. In 2025, Bumrah played three Test matches out of the five against England, and then featured in all four Tests at home after that series. The pacer is not expected to play T20Is as the T20 World Cup is in 2028.
“The attempt is to keep Bumrah fit enough to play all Tests. He is expected to play the four Tests in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The challenge will be to keep him fresh for the five Tests at home against Australia. The selectors won’t mind resting him for some ODI series. He played T20 cricket after a gap of two years in the Asia Cup last September and still delivered,” BCCI sources told TOI.
Bumrah will play a crucial role in India’s chances to qualify for the WTC final. The Men in Blue have failed to qualify for the final of the tournament since Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach.
The Indian Test team have been whitewashed by South Africa and New Zealand at home. The selectors have communicated to the first-choice Test players that it is compulsory to be available for Test cricket if they are fit.