With less than a fortnight to go for the first Test of the Shubman Gill era, challenges at hand are aplenty in the India camp. Apart from the most obvious task of getting the batting transition right, the predominant question that lingers is regarding the workload management of their ace card, Jasprit Bumrah.
Tours to England are as challenging for fast bowlers as they are for the batters. Given that the conditions generally suit the seamers, the fast men are always expected to get the job done, making it a mentally taxing job.
Additionally, finding the right lengths to bowl is crucial because it is easy to get carried away in such conditions and spray the ball all over the place. India's pace-bowling stocks have risen considerably over the last decade, but the fact remains that Bumrah is their best bowler by some distance. He is irreplaceable and indispensable.
However, with his unique bowling action and the volume of cricket being played these days, how much can Bumrah's body possibly take in the longest format?
Remember, he played all five Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia recently, doing a tireless one-horse job of wicket-taking, but that came with a price.
During the final match of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Bumrah endured a back injury, ruling him out of the second innings and consequently forcing a three-month layoff. Crucially, it ruled him out of the 2025 Champions Trophy that India eventually went on to win.
For the record, Bumrah bowled 151.2 overs during the Test series. Statistically, Pat Cummins (167), Mohammed Siraj (157.1) and Mitchell Starc (153.2) bowled more overs, but there is a twist in the tale. All three bowled an extra innings, while Bumrah was largely unavailable for the first innings of the Sydney Test and fully absent in the second.
Effectively, that means that India's pace ace was the most overused bowler in the entire series. While Bumrah topped the wicket-taking charts and also had the best strike rate in the series, the overload of bowling caused the inevitable injury layoff, something which India cannot afford often.
Arguably the most complete all-format bowler in the world currently, Bumrah's value cannot be overplayed in just one format. India has a T20 World Cup at home in less than a year and an ODI World Cup in 2027. There will be the IPL seasons in between, and all this means a lot will be on the plate for Bumrah. Starting with the England tour, the Indian team's schedule over the next 12 to 18 months will be rigorous. The Gill-led squad will be banking on Bumrah not just in the bowling department but also in leadership. However, will he play all five Tests? Unlikely.
The team management wouldn't want a repeat of the Australia tour, but the problem doesn't have a straightforward solution. If India manages a winning start to the series, managing Bumrah's workload becomes significantly easier; however, if that isn't the case, things could become complicated. Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir have already hinted that their star pacer might not be part of all the matches. The ideal scenario would be for Bumrah to play three Tests, and the initial chats from the captain-coach duo also suggest the same. However, the dynamics also involve many variables.
"We haven't taken that call, which three games is he going to play," Gambhir said at the pre-departure press conference held in Mumbai. "We are going to have a discussion with him and depending on the series as well. A lot will depend on the results of the series and where it is heading. That is something which I am sure he is very well aware of as well, and that is important."
Since his back injury in Australia, Bumrah's fitness has been closely monitored by the BCCI medical staff. The consensus is that he shouldn't be played in consecutive Tests of a series, especially if the gap between the games isn't significant. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar mentioned the same while announcing the Test squad two weeks ago and opined that it is a reality that the management will have to deal with. To state the obvious, Bumrah's availability in the series will have a direct impact on India's fortunes.
The first Test of the series, at Headingley, will take place from June 20-24. Assuming that the matches last five days, there will be an eight-day break before the second Test in Birmingham (July 2-6). However, the third Test (at Lord's) that follows will only have a turnaround time of three days. The pattern is similar for the final two games of the series. The Lord's game will be followed by an eight-day break before the Manchester Test (July 23-27), followed by a short three-day break before the final match at The Oval (July 31-August 4).
In an ideal scenario, Bumrah could feature in the first two Tests and then play the fourth game of the series. There is also the temptation of featuring at Lord's, a historic venue for any player. However, all this could be dictated, like Gambhir said, by the tempo of the series. Agarkar echoed the coach's words on the topic.
"Whether it's four or three [Tests], we will see how the series goes and how his body can take the workload," said Agarkar.
"Needless to say how important he is, even if he's fit for three or four Tests, he's going to win us a few Test matches. So we are just glad that he is fit and that little setback that he had in Australia wasn't too bad."
Fitness metrics aside, another crucial factor that could determine Bumrah's availability is the performance of the other Indian pacers. During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the support Bumrah received was negligible, with his colleagues all guilty of being inconsistent with the ball. That inevitably meant more spells for the spearhead, leading to injury. Bumrah's support pacers in England will be Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur, with the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep being the other seam options. Siraj and Shardul have prior experience in England, and the duo could feature alongside Bumrah in the series opener.
It then becomes imperative for Bumrah's pace partners to be at the top of the game to ease the workload of their leader. Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun, in an interview with RevSportz Global, offered a simple take on the matter.
"Too much of bowling and too little of bowling can cause injuries," said Arun.
"Obviously, we cannot control the number of overs that Jasprit Bumrah bowls in a match. According to the number of overs he bowls in a match, his practice sessions can be toned down, where he needs to be working on his recovery, strength training session in the gym or recovery work with the physios. So, handling him will be crucial."
"Bumrah's presence in the team adds a huge value. Not only does he do well, but he also rallies the other bowlers. The confidence that they ride on with Bumrah being in the team will add a lot of value to the team. Ideally, I would want him to play all the Tests. If there is good support from the other fast bowlers, I'm sure that he can be preserved for all the games."
The intra-squad game between India and India A, followed by the practice game at Beckenham, will give an idea about the bowling combination that India shall start the series with. Regardless of who is picked alongside Bumrah, India will hope that the bowlers rise to the occasion. Not only will it help to kickstart the Gill era on a positive note, but it will also help to keep Bumrah in prime condition.
