diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkShardRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkShardRequest.java
index ffc2407b8a4..b9d7f876dc1 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkShardRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkShardRequest.java
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ public class BulkShardRequest extends ReplicatedWriteRequest<BulkShardRequest> {
         setRefreshPolicy(refreshPolicy);
     }
 
-    BulkItemRequest[] items() {
+    public BulkItemRequest[] items() {
         return items;
     }