India vs New Zealand: Result of Pune Test to dictate India's workload management

Pune: The significance of the second Test in Pune was plastered across Indian coach Gautam Gambhir’s face as he spoke of suspending actions crafted around workload management for a bit. 

When asked if Jasprit Bumrah could do with a break since he has played all three home Tests so far and will be an essential component of India’s fight in Australia in the weeks to come, he said:  “…all we are concentrating on are these two Test matches. These two Test matches are very, very important to us. As important as any other Test match, be it in India or in Australia. So, the focus right now is absolutely on New Zealand. We don't want to change that focus or shift that focus to Australia."

In realising that he had steered far left of the typical 'workload management' narrative, Gambhir dialled it back to suggest that India might rest Bumrah for the third Test in Mumbai, but even that, you could tell he wasn’t very convinced. 

“Once this series is over, we still have around 10 or 12 days before the Test (series) starts in Australia,” he said in the pre-match press conference. “That's enough break for our fast bowlers. But we will still monitor after this Test where Bumrah is. That said, it’s not only about Bumrah. It’s about all the fast bowlers. 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 depend on what the outcome of this Test match is and how much have they bowled in this Test match,” he added. 

Back to the series at hand, Gambhir, as he had prior Bengaluru, went on to speak at length about India’s attitude in Tests, insisting that they will remain steadfast with their approach despite, quickly adding that they were but a 100-or-so runs away from winning the series opener. 

“This is why we call cricket and sports as big levellers. If you enjoyed such days as we did in Kanpur, then you will have to accept such days as we did in Bengaluru. But the good thing was that despite being all out for 46, we were still looking to win the Test — that was important. This is the way we want to play cricket,” he said. 

"There was no such intention in the second innings that we were looking to play out the next two-and-a-half days. We were thinking about how to make the match out of it and if you ask me, we were probably 100 runs away," he added.

He offered an interesting insight into the mindset of the new generation of batters, saying batting to save a Test is not likely anymore since T20 cricket has made batters more aggressive.

"To a certain extent, it's good because when I batted in Napier, the T20 format was just introduced," he noted. "Now, with so much of T20 cricket around, you expect players to be more aggressive. The game has changed and we have to accept that as well. We will need a lot of temperament and a lot of mental toughness to bat for two or two-and-a-half days.”

While it’s not hard to read into what Gambhir is insinuating in the end, it’s certainly not reassuring, least of all when such a challenging season lies in wait.