Ahead of their imminent departure to Sri Lanka, newly-appointed Head Coach Gautam Gambhir and Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media to express their view on the handling of the Indian pace battery. The absence of the lead pacer was the conspicuous void in the squad that India announced for the forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka.

The 30-year-old became an irreplaceable part of the India bowling unit across all three formats but was not a part of either the ODI or the T20 squad that played Sri Lanka later this month.

Gautam Gambhir added that not selecting Bumrah was due to workload management to a great extent. Bumrah has been in the touring Test team against England, followed by the Indian Premier League and the T20 World Cup 2024.

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“I’ve said it before, workload management is important for someone like Jasprit Bumrah. But batters, if they can play regularly, and are in form, they might as well play all the games,” Gautam Gambhir said. He said, “With Rohit and Virat not playing T20 cricket, they only have two formats to focus on, so I’m sure they will be available for most of the games.”

Gautam Gambhir stressed the sort of physical toil the fast bowlers are under and re-iterated that workload management is key. “For Jasprit Bumrah, who is one really unusual bowler, it’s our responsibility to keep him fresh for most important games. Workload management is key not just for Jasprit Bumrah but most fast bowlers,” he ended.

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India’s white-ball tour to Sri Lanka will start with a three-match T20I series and conclude with a three-match ODI series. The 20-over games will take place in Pallekele, while the 50-over games will be held in Colombo. This tour happens to be Gambhir’s very first assignment as a head coach, and he would be looking forward to making a mark at the earliest.