India will monitor Jasprit Bumrah’s workload after Pune Test: Gautam Gambhir

Jasprit Bumrah. (Source – Wasim Jaffer)

Head coach Gautam Gambhir asserted that the workload of talismanic seamer Jasprit Bumrah will be monitored after the second Test between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune concludes. India will look to restore parity in the three-match series after going down in the first Test in Bengaluru last week. The highly-anticipated second Test commences on Thursday, October 24.

After the third Test against New Zealand, India play a four-match T20I series against South Africa before they embark on a trip to Australia to play the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. In the South Africa series, India are likely to rest the players who will be boarding the flight to Australia.

Gambhir feels that the 10-12 days break between the third Test against New Zealand and the tour of Australia is sufficient for the rest and recovery of his fast bowlers. However, the former India opener mentioned that Bumrah’s workload will be assessed after the second Test.

“Once the series is over, we still have around 10 or 12 days before the Test starts in Australia. That is enough break for our fast bowlers as well. But we will still monitor after this Test match where Jasprit Bumrah is,” Gambhir said in the pre-match press conference.

“But it’s not only about Jasprit Bumrah. It’s about with all the fast bowlers as well. We want to keep them fresh. We know that obviously we have got a long tour and an important tour of Australia,” Gambhir added.

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Workload management will definitely depend on outcome of second Test: Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir stated that the workload management will depend on the result of the second Test as India are trailing after the eight-wicket defeat in the first encounter.

“Workload management will definitely depend on what the outcome of this Test match is and how much have they bowled in this match,” Gambhir mentioned.

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Bumrah wasn’t at his best in the first Test. He bagged just one wicket from the 19 overs he bowled in the first innings. However, he kept things very tight amid all the carnage caused by the trio of Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, and Tim Southee. In the second innings, Bumrah took two wickets with the new ball and made life difficult for the New Zealand batters with swing and seam movement.