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India head coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed on managing Jasprit Bumrah’s workload with four Tests left in the England series.
Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the Edgbaston Test is still not guaranteed (Picture credit: AP)
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has said that it is crucial for the team management to handle Jasprit Bumrah’s workload, especially with four more Tests to come in the England series, and a defeat in the Headingley Test doesn’t mean the pacer would be played for more than three Tests.
Bumrah was the only Indian bowler who posed a challenge to the England batters at Headingley.
As part of workload management for Bumrah, the Indian team management had decided to play him in three out of five Tests. That plan does not change with four matches remaining.
“No, we won’t change the plans. For us to manage his workload is more important because there’s a lot of cricket going forward, and we know what he brings to the table as well,” Gambhir said while speaking at the post-match press conference.
“Before he came on the show, it was already decided that he was going to play three Tests. But let’s see how his body turns out. We haven’t decided which two other Tests he’s going to play,” Gambhir added.
The next Test begins in Birmingham from July 2, but the head coach said that the side hasn’t taken a call on which two matches Bumrah will be part of in the next four games.
“(Even without Bumrah), we have the bowling attack to compete. We believe in them. We trust in them. When we pick the squad, we pick the squad on trust, not on hope. As I just mentioned, those are inexperienced bowlers, but they will keep getting better,” Gambhir said.
“We saw in this Test as well that for the first four days, even on day five, we were in a position where we could have won the Test. We believe and we trust that these boys will deliver for us,” Gambhir added.
On Tuesday, England opener Ben Duckett hit the most defining hundred of his career, exposing an out-of-depth Indian attack as England chased down a tricky target of 371 to win the opening Test by five wickets after an intriguing five days of play in Headingley.
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