Sourav Ganguly advises Shubman Gill on managing Jasprit Bumrah's workload in the upcoming England Test series. Ganguly emphasizes Bumrah's importance as a wicket-taker and suggests limiting his overs to prevent injury.
Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has urged newly-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill to utilize pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah wisely in the upcoming Test series against England.
Team Indiawill begin their Test tour of England on June 20, with the first match of the series taking place at Headingley. This will be the beginning of a new era in Indian Test Cricket without three stalwarts, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from the longest format of the game. Rohit and Kohli call it quits from their respective careers, while Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the Gabba Test ended in a draw.
Apart from the new era of Indian Test cricket and Shubman Gill’s captaincy, Jasprit Bumrah will be in focus not only because he is one of the senior-most players in the squad, but also, Team India management will look to manage his workload to keep him away from injuries during the series.
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‘Use him as a wicket-taker’
Ahead of the Test series against England, Ganguly stated that Jasprit Bumrah’s performance will be crucial for India’s success in the Test tour, adding that Shubman Gill should use him as a ‘wicket-taker’ rather than playing him for the entire day.
“[Jasprit] Bumrah is your man. You have to understand that you can't just keep bowling him. Shubman Gill has to take note. Use him as a wicket-taker. Don't bowl him more than 12 overs a day,” a former India captain said at an event hosted by Revzsport.
“Let the other bowlers step up. If you can protect Bumrah and use him as a wicket-taker, you surely have a chance," he added.
Jasprit Bumrah suffered a back injury during the Sydney Test in January this year and was on the sidelines for three months, missing the Champions Trophy 2025, which Team India won by defeating New Zealand in the final. The 31-year-old returned to action during the IPL 2025 and picked 18 wickets in 12 matches for the Mumbai Indians.
The BCCI chief selector, Ajit Agarkar,r and head coach, Gautam Gambhir, confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah would not play all five Tests of the series against England in order to avoid the risk of aggravating his injury and to ensure he remains fresh and effective throughout the crucial phases of the series.
Ganguly backs Shubman Gill to perform as captain and batter
Further speaking on India’s Test series against England, Sourav Ganguly stated that Shubman Gill needs to step up not only as a captain but also as a batter and score runs for Team India in the tour.
“He still has some work to do as a Test batter. These are conditions where he needs to score runs," Ganguly said.
"He is a young captain, and he will learn. Imagine if he does well. How good is it? He will be hailed as a hero. You live for such situations as a player," he added.
Shubman Gill has a decent Test record away from home, amassing 649 runs, including a century and two fifties, at an average of 29.50 in 24 innings. However, the 25-year-old does not have impressive Test numbers in England, scoring 88 runs at an average of 14.66 in six innings.
The upcoming Test series against England will be crucial for Shubman Gill, not only to prove his leadership abilities as India aim for their first red-ball series win in England since 2007, but also to establish his credentials as a reliable top-order batter in challenging overseas conditions.
