Will Jasprit Bumrah play all Tests in England? Gambhir answers
What's the story
Following the series opener at Headingley, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up on managing Jasprit Bumrah's workload on the ongoing England tour. The statement comes after legend Sunil Gavaskar requested for Bumrah's participation in all five Tests. While Bumrah fared well in the first innings against England, where he took five wickets, the rest of the Indian pace attack looked bleak.
Workload strategy
'Will stick to plan for now'
After the match, Gambhir spoke about the decision to manage Bumrah's workload carefully. The pacer has had a long-standing back problem, which remains a concern. Despite Gavaskar's comments, Gambhir reiterated that India's plan remains unchanged for now. "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," asserted Gambhir.
Match performance
Bumrah vs rest of the bowling attack
In the first innings of the opening Test match, Bumrah was a standout performer. However, his teammates Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Shardul Thakur took five wickets between them, conceding 288 runs in total. This disparity has raised questions about India's bowling unit after their loss. It will be interesting to see if left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh plays going forward.
Defense strategy
'This attack is inexperienced...'
Gambhir has commented on the criticism faced by the bowling unit during the five-day Test match. He pointed out that this attack is relatively inexperienced. "We will have to give them time," he said. Gambhir also stressed the importance of experience in Test cricket, especially when touring countries like Australia, England, or South Africa. He said, "Earlier, we used to have four fast bowlers in the squad with an experience of more than 40 Tests."
Summary
How the Headingley Test panned out
An inexperienced Indian line-up, being invited to bat, scored 471 in the first innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant slammed tons. England responded well (465), with Ollie Pope and Harry Brook shining. Bumrah took a fifer. India (364), thereafter, banked on tons from KL Rahul and Pant but faced a collapse. England's 371-run chase saw an incredible opening stand of 188 runs between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. Day 5 was eventful, but England won by five wickets.
Bumrah
Bumrah unlocks achievements with fifer
Bumrah claimed figures worth 5/83 from 24.4 overs in the first innings. This was also his third five-wicket haul on English soil. It was also Bumrah's 10th five-wicket haul in SENA nations. He raced to 150 wickets in this regard. Notably, Bumrah equaled the great Kapil Dev in terms of most five-wicket hauls for India in away Test matches (12).