'Workload management depends on...': Gautam Gambhir denies rest to Jasprit Bumrah

India National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir has made it very clear that they will look to rest players like Jasprit Bumrah and manage their workload only if the result of the matches goes in India's favor.

Bumrah is the most important asset in the Indian Team and he was given a lengthy break following the conclusion of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. He only returned to the team for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh and also took part in the first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand.

Jasprit Bumrah Has Shined For India In Home Tests

Bumrah did a fantastic job with the ball for the Indian Team in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. He finished up with the figures of 4/50 & 1/24 in two innings and helped India win the match.

In the second Test in Kanpur, he was once again brilliant as he bagged 3-wicket hauls in both innings and played a vital role in the victory against the Tigers.

A similar kind of performance was expected from the right-arm pacer in the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand where the Kiwi pacers dominated. However, Bumrah faced a rare failure and could only pick 3 wickets across two innings.

Gautam Gambhir Opens Up On India Managing Jasprit Bumrah's Workload

Two Test matches remain against New Zealand, and after that, the Indian team will be traveling to Australia for the high-octane Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

As the team leaves the sub-continent, the role of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will significantly decrease and the Indian pacers need to show their bowling prowess.

The biggest responsibility will fall on the shoulders of the pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, and managing his workload becomes very important.

At the pre-match press conference, India head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke about this matter. He said that the players will get enough break after the New Zealand series, but they will monitor the workload of Jasprit Bumrah and other pacers after the second Test.

He also sent a bold message to Indian players, stating that the outcome of the matches will have a direct impact on the workload management.

“Once the series is over, we still have around 10 or 12 days before the (first) 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 stated.

“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’ve got a long tour and an important tour of Australia.

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

I think there is no one in this world who can predict how the wicket is going to behave - Gautam Gambhir on Pune pitch

While talking about the surface for the Pune Test between India and New Zealand, Gautam Gambhir said that he can't predict the behavior of the pitch and can only back his players to get the job done.

"I think there is no one in this world who can predict how the wicket is going to behave. To be very honest, no one can.

"Yes, we feel that I think the wicket is going to be a typical Indian wicket. We back our bowlers to do the job and we back our batters to get runs on this wicket as well. But again, I think till the time the game is not started, we can't predict how the wicket is going to behave.

"And till the time both the teams haven't batted on this wicket, we can't expect to predict anything either," Gautam Gambhir said.