Will Jasprit Bumrah be ready to play the second Test against England at Edgbaston? That is the biggest question confronting the Indian team management as the visitors look to bounce back after losing the series opener at Leeds.
In his media interaction post the five-wicket loss on day five, head coach Gautam Gambhir made it clear that there would be no change in the proposed workload management of the injury-prone pace spearhead, who is slated to play three of the five Tests in the series.
With the first Test ending on June 24 and the next beginning on July 2, there is enough time for Bumrah to recover, but it is to be seen whether he will be ready for selection.
Bumrah, the only bowler who consistently troubled the English batters on a batter-friendly Headingley surface, took a five-wicket haul in the first innings and delivered an overall 44.4 overs in the match.
A pace attack sans Bumrah will make the opposition's task significantly easier. Moreover, it leaves the team management in a quandary over which of the two Tests their trump card could feature in.
The Indian team management would have had a much easier decision to make had Shubman Gill and Co. gone to Birmingham 1-0 up.
"That is a tough call indeed for the team management. He should ideally play when the series is alive but the management knows best on how to manage his workload," former India chief selector MSK Prasad said.
A BCCI source added: "Bumrah has close to a week's break between first and second Test. So the decision rests with chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill. They might assess him a day before the Test, and take a final call."
There is only a three-day gap between the second and the third Test, scheduled at Lord's from July 10-14, and therefore, Bumrah is certain to not feature in both the games.
"We won't change the plans," said Gambhir on Tuesday when asked whether the team management will push Bumrah to play four Tests.
"For us to manage his workload is more important because there's a lot of cricket going forward and we know what he brings on the table as well. Before he came on the tour, it was already decided that he's going to play three Test matches."
Edgbaston or Lord's? Gambhir and Co. clearly have a tough call to make.
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