As India begins its home cricket season with the first Test against the West Indies, beginning on Thursday, captain Shubman Gill made it clear that there has been no decision on the ‘workload management’ for the fast bowling unit, led by Jasprit Bumrah.
Over the next five weeks, India will play four Test matches – two against the West Indies and two against South Africa – and also quite a bit of limited overs cricket, and Gill said that a decision will be made on a ‘match to match basis’.
“We are going to take a call on a match to match basis depending on how long a Test match goes and how many overs our fast bowlers bowl,” Gill said on the eve of the match.
During the England Test series earlier this year, the workload management became a major talking point as Bumrah was available for just three matches, whereas Mohammed Siraj played all five Tests. However, this time around, the team management, it seems, wants to tread cautiously.
“Nothing is pre-decided,” Gill said. “We will take a call once the Test match is over and (after assessing) how our fast bowlers feel and how their bodies feel after the match…”
The captain also indicated that the team is moving away from its preference for rank turners in home games.
READ | Bumrah, Kuldeep and Axar rest as India hits the ground running for West Indies Test series
“I can’t really speak about what were the conversations before I came (in as captain), but yes, we would be looking to play on wickets that offer (help) to both the batsmen and to the bowlers,” Gill said.
“But having said that, I think any challenge for any team that comes to India, they know that the challenge is going to be spin and reverse swing. So keeping these challenges in mind, we would be looking to play on wickets that offer both to the batsmen and to the bowlers…”
With overcast conditions and rain threat on the cards, Gill admitted that he would be ‘tempted’ to play a third seamer. However, with a red soil surface on offer, the team management could eventually go ahead with three spinners – Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja – and field two seamers in Bumrah and Siraj. But Gill clarified that a decision will be made on the match day, after assessing the conditions.
This being Gill’s first home assignment as the Test captain, the expectations are high from the Indian team, especially with the way it came from behind to draw the five-match series 2-2 in England.
“We are looking to play some hard-grinding cricket and then over the past few years, if you see the Test matches in India did not really go up to five days. So, what we are really looking to do is to play some good, hard cricket,” Gill said.
“All the Test matches that we played in England went pretty deep and what the people can expect from us is good, hard-grinding cricket and we wouldn’t be looking for any easy options. We have got the skillset to be able to play on any kind of wicket or any situation and the kind of talent that we have in the team, we can turnaround from any situation, so that’s how we will be looking to play,” he added.
Having played the Asia Cup recently, there’s hardly any turnaround time for most members of the team, but Gill remains confident that with enough experience, the players would be able to swiftly switch to the longer format and deliver.
Published on Oct 01, 2025
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