Although Ravichandran Ashwin may not be present in England to impart his knowledge to the Indian team, the former Indian off-spinner did so from Chennai to his fellow players. Following his declaration of retirement from international cricket in December, Ashwin gave the Indian team management—a group that includes Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill—a serious caution about Jasprit Bumrah. If this warning is disregarded, it might have disastrous consequences for India and their chances of winning the five-match series.

Bumrah is in charge of leading India's pace bowling assault in the absence of Ashwin and Mohammed Shami. It's obvious that he won't be playing all five matches and that his workload will be handled more effectively than in the past, given his history of back problems. Head coach Gambhir confirmed the same before the team left, but he didn't say which games Bumrah would miss. This was a wise move, as such choices ought to be made only after thoroughly examining the body. Ashwin reiterated this, but he pointed out that the squad has unexpectedly not yet embraced a phenomenon.

"When it comes to Bumrah, we haven't truly utilized sports science and technology." Right now, everything is quite subjective. Jassi didn't be fatigued and declare that his body couldn't take any more until Melbourne, Australia, either. After that, he fell apart in Sydney. This offers some valuable lessons. "And that's what will define how you use him in England," Ashwin told RevSportz.

"See, it's a matter of opinion whether he will play three or four Tests." Why not four, and why not two? We can now measure everything, and when you factor in how the player is feeling, you can get almost flawless evaluation of where you are with Jassi."

Bumrah was set to repeat the same procedure in Australia, selecting which five Tests to participate in. However, India had no choice but to continue with Bumrah because of the magnitude of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the end, India's decision backfired when Bumrah collapsed in the fifth and last Test match in Sydney, leaving him unable to play for three months. Ashwin requested a thorough, step-by-step description of Bumrah's body throughout the match to prevent a recurrence.

Ashwin gives his opinion

"Let me clarify: you should assess his bodily metrics daily during training. All sessions must be watched. Additionally, you should keep an eye on him during games. You have obvious indicators of his condition, running speed, and everything else you need if you do it daily. Then, ask him how he's feeling, and you'll be able to tell exactly when to let him rest or when to slow down, Ashwin said.

"For instance, you may clearly see that you need to be more cautious if you observe his bodily parameters altering at the conclusion of two Test matches. That's when you should ask him if he's experiencing anything or inform him. You may proceed if he answers no, but you must keep a careful eye on everything. He also knows that he has to speak it the minute he senses anything amiss.

India cannot afford another Bumrah injury

Bumrah concluded the series with 32 wickets, but to what end? He was unable to avert a 1-3 loss and missed India's successful Champions Trophy run. Ashwin points out that India could have defended the 160-run target and leveled the series at 2-2 if Bumrah had stayed fit, but, of course, hindsight is always helpful. Ashwin says that India cannot afford to have Bumrah's SCG fate repeated and that they might find themselves in a familiar situation in the upcoming series against England.

"Everything is achievable with sports science." The reality is that subjective evaluation shouldn't be used as a basis for anything. Would you still give him a break if he doesn't feel anything after two Tests? Would you still want to see him play at Edgbaston if he feels something after the Leeds Test?

"These are crucial decisions for India, and they may overshadow the entire series. India could have won the game if Jassi had been in Sydney. As a result, the way you handle him will have a significant impact on the contest's outcome.

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