The loss in the series opener against England in Headingley will have no impact on the workload management of premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, confirmed head coach Gautam Gambhir, while defending his bowling unit after England rode a superb century from opener Ben Duckett to chase down a daunting 371 on the final day and take a 1-0 lead in the rubber.
Originally slated to play only three of the five Tests in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship series as part of a carefully managed plan to protect his fitness, particularly considering his previous back issues, the 31-year-old Bumrah had become the centre of speculation amid increasing calls from pundits to feature in all five matches.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri felt India might need to rethink their plan of resting Bumrah if the visitors go down 0-2 after the Edgbaston Test, starting July 2.
“If he was looking at a rest, you may have to think twice. If you don’t have him and then go 2-0 down it could be an uphill task,” said Shastri.
However, Gambhir’s confirmation has now put those rumours to rest.
“I think for us to manage Bumrah’s 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.
“So before he came on this tour, it was already decided that he’s going to play three Test matches, but let’s see how his body turns up. But we haven’t decided which two other Test matches he’s going to play,” he said.
On Tuesday, while the experienced trio of Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj struggled to make an impact, it was the relatively less experienced Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur, who picked up two wickets apiece but their efforts couldn’t prevent the hosts to draw first blood in the series.
Defending his bowling attack, Gambhir felt that most of his bowlers are relatively new to Test cricket, and as such needed some time to make an impact.
“This bowling attack has one bowler with five Tests under his belt, one has four, one has played two and one hasn’t yet debuted. We will have to give them time,” said Gambhir.
Earlier, we used to have four fast bowlers in the squad with an experience of more than 40 Tests. It doesn’t make such a big impact in one-day or T20 matches, but when you go to Australia, England or South Africa for Tests, experience matters. These are early days.
“If we start judging our bowlers after every Test, how will we develop a bowling attack? Outside Bumrah and (Mohammad) Siraj, we don’t have that much experience, but they have quality, which is why they are in this dressing room. But we have got to keep backing them because it’s not about one tour. It’s about building a fast-bowler battery that can serve India for long time in Test cricket,” he added.