India bowling coach Morne Morkel stressed on the issues team management is facing around fast bowlers' workload. Morkel feels that having a five-Test series, right after an Indian Premier League (IPL) season is an issue, which can lead to injuries to pacers.
The IPL 2025 edition ended on June 3 because it was suspended for a week due to military conflict on India-Pakistan border. That did not leave India's pacers much time to rest. Morkel does not want to use it as an excuse as India conceded more than 500 runs in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries for the first time in a decade. However, he feels that getting the pacers conditioned is a task in a long Test series.
“It's a real test. We play three Test match series a lot and this is now our first time in a while we've done this with five. It shouldn't be excused, but in terms of conditioning, getting our guys conditioned and getting them ready for five Test series coming straight up after IPL, is sometimes an issue,” said Morkel in the post-day press conference on July 25.
Morkel talked about the injuries to Indian pacers. He wants the Indian team to have a good core of five to six bowlers who can be rotated to avoid any injuries.
“… because you have to balance between Test matches, getting these guys a good amount of recovery time to also keep their bowling loads up. And that's why it's important for us to look at the future and get a good core of five, six bowlers that we can replace and these guys can come in and they can do the job. But at the moment, there’s not a lot of experience with the ball.
“We've got Siraj, we've got Bumrah who has played a handful in the first, and then Akash has played a little bit, but he's out injured. So, we keep on finding ways to bring new guys.
“So it is not easy at the moment. This is just a phase that we need now to work through and get these guys stronger, to last for the rest of the Test matches,” said the former South Africa pacer.
Morkel backs India bowlers after improved display on Day 3
At the end of Day 3's play, England were 544/7 after 135 overs. They have a huge lead of 186 runs in the bag. Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 77 with Liam Dawson batting on 21 on the other end. However, Morkel was impressed with the way bowlers responded on Day 3 after a lacklustre effort on Day 2.
“Much better today with the ball. I thought yesterday was a tough day for us in the office. We missed our lines, putting us slightly on the back foot, but I thought the way the boys responded this morning, especially Siraj and Bumrah with the ball, was good to see.
“And yeah, from there, you know, we tried our best with trying to create opportunities on a wicket played better than the first couple of days. Discipline and holding those lines were key. And that was something I think we missed on day one.”
India have never won a Test at Manchester. Also, Indian bowlers have never taken all 20 wickets in a Test at the venue. The record is unlikely to be broken in the coming two days.