Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has advised head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma to keep Jasprit Bumrah's workload in mind when they travel to England for the five-Test series later this year. For the uninitiated, Bumrah played all five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but went down due to a back spasm in the final match in Sydney.

This injury kept him out of action for three months and ruled him out of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy campaign as well. Shastri reckons the management should take it two Tests at a time, as he would ideally want the World No.1 Test pacer to feature in four matches against England.

Bumrah was the star of the show in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, returning with 32 wickets. However, his one-man show wasn't enough to help India win the series, as Australia won the five-match series 3-1.

“I would be very, very careful with Bumrah. I would give him two Test matches at a time and then wait for the break. Ideally, make him play four. You'll be tempted to make him play five if he starts off in a great manner, but it's how his body pulls up," Shastri said on ICC Review.

“He should be given the first opportunity to say, ‘Yes, a little, I am feeling the niggle. A break would help.’ Give him that break," he added.

Bumrah returned to competitive cricket in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He made his comeback in the fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium.

Indian pace trio will give England problems

The former India head coach also reckons that the pace battery of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will give England heaps of problems if they are fit for the entirety of the series.

"I think with Siraj, Jasprit and Mohammed Shami, these three, if they are fully fit, they will give England heaps of problems," Shastri said.

"It's a quality, top-class pace attack when you get these three fit. And what I like about Siraj, I'm glad he was hurt after being put out, not in the side for the Champions Trophy. That's what you want," he added.

Shastri also praised Mohammed Siraj for doing the hard yards after being snubbed from the Champions Trophy and making a strong comeback for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL.

"For him to go back to the drawing board and come back the way he has, there's a spring in his stride, the pace is up there, and he means business game after game. And that is perfect from India's point of view with England coming up," said Shastri.

The five-match Test series between India and England will begin on June 20 in Leeds. The final Test will begin on July 31 at the Oval.

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