The transition is not going to be easy. India learnt that the hard way as the Shubman Gill-led side went down to England by five wickets in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds, after the hosts chased down a massive 371-run target, with 350 coming on the fifth day itself, making the Indian bowlers look ordinary. The defeat came despite Indian batters scoring a record-setting five centuries, including two by Rishabh Pant. Despite scoring 835 runs in the first Test, India were outwitted by England after batting collapses of 7 for 41 and 6 for 31 in either innings.

After the Indian bowlers failed to offer ample support to pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and the good work done by Mohammed Siraj early in England’s second innings, the question that lingers now is whether Bumrah will play the remaining four Tests to help India save face against England, who demonstrated their Bazball style and mindset again - first by nearly cancelling out India’s command in the first innings and then by chasing down a mighty target - second highest at Leeds since Australia's 404 in 1948, and third overall in England. England took full advantage of dropped catches and leaky Indian bowlers, with Prasidh Krishna and Ravindra Jadeja conceding at an economy rate of over six.

Even as Bumrah and Siraj did well to keep England’s batters in check, their measured aggression meant India could not break the opening-wicket partnership with Zak Crawley (65) and Ben Duckett, who slammed his sixth Test hundred, scoring 149 off 170 balls and steering England to an emphatic victory. England’s win was historic — they became the first team in over 60,000 first-class games to concede five individual hundreds and still win.

Despite the defeat, India head coach Gautam Gambhir ruled out Bumrah playing all the remaining four Tests. He said the team will stick to their original plan of playing Bumrah in only three Tests to manage his workload and that it will not change due to the scoreline of the series. Bumrah picked up a fifer in England’s first innings but went wicketless in the second.

“[We] haven’t decided which two matches Bumrah will play, but he will play a total of three. We need to manage his workload. The scoreline doesn’t change that… he will play three Tests only,” Gambhir said after the match.

Captain Shubman Gill echoed Gambhir. “It’s decided game-by-game. Once we’re close to the next game after a long break, we’ll see,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony. The second Test between England and India will begin on July 2 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Whether Bumrah plays that game or not will be closely monitored.