Sanjana Ganesan relays Gavaskar & Pujara’s plea to husband Bumrah

TV presenter and wife of Jasprit Bumrah, Sanjana Ganesan, passed on a special request from batting great Sunil Gavaskar and Cheteshwar Pujara to her husband and India’s premier fast bowler Bumrah in an interview during Day 4 of the first Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test between India and England at Headingley in Leeds on Monday.
During a light-hearted conversation, Sanjana said, “A request has come from above from Cheteshwar Pujara and Sunil Gavaskar. Don’t shoot the messenger, I am just telling you what they said, ‘Jasprit, please play all five, please please please,’” said Sanjana. In reply, Bumrah came up with a cheeky response and said, “That is the conversation that we’ll have on other day.”

Jasprit Bumrah keeping the batters and us guessing 😫#SonySportsNetwork #GroundTumharaJeetHamari #ENGvIND #NayaIndia #DhaakadIndia #TeamIndia | @Jaspritbumrah93 @SanjanaGanesan pic.twitter.com/lIKggth6qg
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) June 23, 2025
Bumrah had said he would play three out of five Tests in England to manage his workload as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy had seen him endure a stress injury after he was exposed to excessive workload in the Australian tour.
Earlier, Bumrah waged a lone battle over the last two days in contrasting conditions in Leeds as his 14th Test five-wicket haul bundled England out for 465 on the third day in the first innings. His special feat was, however, not enough to hand India a decisive advantage as fellow seamers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna’s profligate outings, conceding over 240 runs together, meant that India’s first-innings score of 471 offered minimal momentum while heading into the second essay.
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Refused India captaincy
Bumrah recently revealed that even before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from Tests, he had informed the BCCI not to consider him for leadership roles because of a long-standing back issue that requires him to manage his workload, as the selectors eventually picked Shubman Gill as  Rohit’s successor.
Bumrah, who has captained in three Tests in a stop-gap arrangement in the past, has shown tactical acumen that can be considered for the long run. But following a relapse of his back injury during the series in Australia in January, the fast bowler explained how the succession decision panned out, as at one point, the BCCI was seriously looking at him for captaincy.