Why is Jasprit Bumrah not part of the 3rd Test against New Zealand in Mumbai?

New Delhi: Jasprit Bumrah, a key member of India’s bowling lineup, has been rested from the 3rd Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. Bumrah’s absence is a huge miss for Team India, especially at a time when the men in Blue are trying to save themselves from an early exit from the World Test Championship Final. The BCCI released the official statement before the toss confirming Bumrah’s absence from the Test match.

BCCI’s official statement on X (formerly Twitter)↓↓

UPDATE:

Mr Jasprit Bumrah has not fully recovered from his viral illness. He was unavailable for selection for the third Test in Mumbai.#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 1, 2024

At the toss, skipper Rohit Sharma informed about Bumrah’s unavailability. When asked about the reason behind resting Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian skipper remarked:

Bumrah is not well, so (Mohammed) Siraj replaces him…

He added that while qualifying for the World Test Championship Final was at the back of their minds, India’s focus was on the present game against New Zealand. Coming to the toss, the coin landed in favour of the Blackcaps. Subsequently, the New Zealand skipper Tom Latham elected to bat first.

Latham believed the surface was reasonably good, and wanted to put pressure on India by getting runs on the board. The Kiwis currently are on a 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. Although New Zealand has won the series in India, the Blackcaps will be looking to finish the series with a win and complete a 3-0 whitewash. It will also help Latham and his boys to cement their position on the WTC points table.

Updated WTC table after South Africa won their game against Bangladesh⇩⇩⇩

South Africa’s win in Chattogram helped them leap over New Zealand in #WTC25 standings 💪#BANvSA pic.twitter.com/I2FoZmuNmQ

— ICC (@ICC) October 31, 2024

India vs New Zealand: Playing XI of both teams

India XI

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand XI

Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, Will O’Rourke