Can Jasprit Bumrah play all the five India vs England Tests? Gambhir draws a hard line

The first Test at Headingley made a lot of things clear for the visitors. The most clear learning to pick from the opening India vs England Test, however, is to bring down the dependency on Jasprit Bumrah. The opening fixture in Headingley, from the bowling perspective, painted a picture similar to that of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Jasprit Bumrah bowled splendidly across the five-match series, becoming the highest wicket-taker. However, the workload broke Bumrah's back. Facing the consequence of pushing his body beyond the limits, the pacer specified his availability this year. The BCCI confirmed that the premier pacer would play only three out of the five India vs England Tests.

To avoid putting his body under any undue pressure, Jasprit Bumrah pulled back from India's Test captaincy race. Knowing that he could not commit to bowling across five matches, Bumrah stepped back in the best interest of the team. However, the turn-up of Team India in the first India vs England Test laid bare the unit's over-dependency on the speedster. Bumrah scalped three on Day 2 of the opening Test, the only wickets that India picked that day.

Moreover, the likes of Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Shardul Thakur seemed to misfire more than they imposed pressure on England. Despite Bumrah creating consistent chances, even completing a five-wicket haul in the first innings, the rest of the bowlers failed to bank on the momentum, letting crucial runs flow from the other end. Bumrah's magic in the first innings led to Sunil Gavaskar and Cheteshwar Pujara requesting the speedster to rethink his workload. The message was delivered to Bumrah via his wife and sports presenter, Sanjana Ganesan, who asked Bumrah on air. The speedster remained tight-lipped on his plans ahead.

Can the loss in the opening India vs England Test push the team to play Jasprit Bumrah more matches than originally planned?

The match, where India scored five centuries, the highest ever by the team in the format, slipped out of their grasp. Fielding errors cost the visitors the most, with Yashasvi Jaiswal fumbling four grabs as the team collectively dropped eight catches. Moreover, the tail-end of the batting order failed to show up as India lost 6 for 24 and 6 for 25 in the first and second innings, respectively. However, the shortcomings of the half-cooked bowling lineup stood out. Beyond Jasprit Bumrah, the attack looked toothless, with the rest of the bowlers failing to hit the right length at Headingley.

With the hosts already one up in the India vs England series, it's a steep hill ahead for the guests on foreign soil. The Indian bench, right now, has Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana in the pace attack. Rana was added just for the first Test but didn't get to play the fixture. Now, whether Rana continues with the Indian squad in England or returns home is still unclear. Arshdeep, meanwhile, is awaiting his maiden Test debut. If added, the left-arm pacer can bring variation to the right-hand-dominated attack of India. However, no matter the bench strength, Bumrah, in his current form, is sure to be missed significantly in whichever fixture he sits out.

After India lost the first Test by 5 wickets to England, the new Indian skipper, Shubman Gill, was asked about the pacer. In the post-match presentation, Gill answered whether Bumrah's participation will be gauged on a game-by-game basis or if it is well-planned by now. The young captain specified that the management is taking it ahead on a game-by-game basis.

“It's definitely match-by-match. We've got a good break after this match. Once we go to Birmingham and see the wicket, we will see if he's going to play that one or not,” said Gill.

However, when the Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, joined the press conference later, a contrasting statement came out. The head coach reiterated that the series will move ahead as planned before the tour. While Bumrah remains crucial, India has a lot of cricket to play after the India vs England series. Thus, managing the pacer's workload remains a priority and India is set to follow the plan of playing Bumrah in only three out of the five matches.

"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 added.