Sunil Gavaskar recommends India to drop a ‘superstar’ player for their Asia Cup 2025 game vs Sri Lanka

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With India’s spot in the Asia Cup 2025 final secured, former captain Sunil Gavaskar has offered a key piece of advice for the team’s upcoming Super 4 match against Sri Lanka.

Speaking on India Today, Gavaskar suggested that India should rest their lead pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, arguing that the match has been rendered a ‘dead rubber’ and a break would be beneficial for the star bowler ahead of the tournament’s final. Gavaskar’s recommendation comes after Bumrah’s impressive performance in India’s recent 41-run victory over Bangladesh, a win that sealed their berth in the final. Bumrah, who had a rare off day against Pakistan, bounced back to register a splendid spell of 2/18 from his four overs against Bangladesh.

“I think only rest Jasprit Bumrah. That will be the thing. You saw him with his rhythm today. He might have looked off color against Pakistan, but he bowled brilliantly today. Yes, he was carted for a six, but generally he bowled really well.” Gavaskar stated. He believes this is the ideal opportunity to give Bumrah a much-needed break. “So, he would be the only guy that you would want to rest. Then, he gets Thursday, Friday, Saturday, three days, before he comes in for the final on Sunday.”

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The cricket legend also dismissed any concerns about Bumrah’s earlier performance against Pakistan, where the pacer went wicketless for 45 runs. Gavaskar emphasized that even the best players are entitled to have an occasional off day.

“Everybody is entitled to an off day. We all know Bumrah is the best bowler in all three formats of the game. His rhythm was very good. Sometimes, you can have one of those days. Today, he was absolutely fine,” Gavaskar commented. Bumrah’s return to form against Bangladesh was a highlight of India’s bowling effort, which also saw strong performances from Varun Chakaravarthy (2/27) and the tournament’s standout bowler, Kuldeep Yadav (3/18). Bumrah is also on the cusp of a personal milestone, needing just six more wickets to become only the second Indian bowler to claim 100 T20I scalps, a feat recently achieved by Arshdeep Singh.

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