(Reuters) 鈥 India will continue to prioritise Jasprit Bumrah鈥檚 fitness and stick to their plan of playing the pace spearhead in only three out of the five tests against England despite losing the opener by five wickets on Tuesday, head coach Gautam Gambhir said.
Bumrah, who declined the test captaincy in order to manage his workload after four months out with a back issue, was India鈥檚 top bowler with 5-83 in the first innings of the Headingley thriller but went wicketless in the second.
The 31-year-old鈥檚 expected absence in two of the remaining four tests could see India field an inexperienced attack against the hosts鈥 aggressive batters but Gambhir remained focused on the longer-term picture.
鈥淔or us to manage Bumrah鈥檚 workload is more important,鈥 he told reporters. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of cricket going forward and we know what he brings to the table.
鈥淏efore he came on this tour it was already decided that he鈥檚 going to play three tests, but let鈥檚 see how his body turns up. We haven鈥檛 decided which other tests he鈥檚 going to play.鈥
Seamer Prasidh Krishna took five wickets in the match and leaked runs, while bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur bagged two wickets while contributing only five runs with the bat, but Gambhir backed the under-fire duo.
鈥淧rasidh bowled really well,鈥 Gambhir said.
鈥淗e got us crucial wickets. We picked him because we thought he鈥檚 got something different. He鈥檚 got bounce, and in the first innings, he used that really well, even in the second innings. He鈥檒l keep getting better with experience.
鈥淪hardul was used a little less, but the reason was that Ravindra Jadeja bowled really well, so we thought he鈥檒l give us control. Shardul got us two important wickets. I鈥檓 not going to say this guy didn鈥檛 bowl well or that guy bowled well.
鈥淲e鈥檝e just got to be more consistent 鈥 and these boys will learn.鈥
The second test will begin in Birmingham on July 2.