Gavaskar dismisses 'workload' concerns, insists Jasprit Bumrah should play all five Tests against AUS: 'He's your key player'

Bumrah experienced a moment of concern during Day 2 of the Adelaide Test, as he appeared to injure his abductor muscle. Despite the scare, the resilient Indian bowler quickly regained his composure and continued bowling. India ultimately suffered a ten-wicket defeat in the match.

However, whether Bumrah plays all the remaining Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, only time will tell. Gavaskar said that Bumrah needs to be available for the remaining matches as he is the best-performing Indian bowler.

"I would like him to play all 5 Test matches. You are playing for India, there is no question of all this workload and stuff like that. He has to play all 5 Test matches unless he is injured. This match has finished in two-and-a-half days and it hasn't gone on for 5 days," Gavaskar told India Today.

"So the man gets five days of break. If the man has a problem, if he has an injury then yes but if he doesn't have an injury, yes you have been giving him 4-5 over spells, that is perfect and that is the way to go. I think he is your battering ram. If you are not going to play him for all five Tests, then you reduce your chances of taking all 20 wickets. So he has to play, how he is used, it is up to the captain," he added.

After the defeat in Adelaide, India captain Rohit Sharma said that Jasprit Bumrah cannot time and time again shoulder the entire bowling burden, asking the others to step up and deliver.

In the 2nd Test in Adelaide, the pressure eased up on Australian batters once Bumrah was taken out of the attack. The likes of Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana were not able to maintain the same probing lines and lengths as Bumrah.

"It’s great to have someone like Bumrah, but he is not going to be the only one who is going to do the job all the time," said Rohit at the post-match press conference.

“We saw (Mohammed) Siraj, along with Bumrah, when he got those four wickets, the responsibility was shared. That’s what we look forward to. Bumrah will not get wickets at times. And the other guys need to step in,” he added.

Speaking about Bumrah's workload, Rohit said, "I keep talking to him during his spells, ask him how his body has been holding up. It’s a five-Test series and we want Bumrah to be fresh and play all the five Test matches. It’s important to analyse these things, workload management is important. We have doctors, physios, and trainers, and we see regularly which bowler has how much fuel. We keep talking about these things."

"We are not playing with just one bowler, there are others who have to take responsibility. Be it Siraj, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, or Nitish Reddy, these guys have come to the team only now. We need to give them confidence as well. When they play a match, they need confidence and it’s my job to give them that,” he added.