SYDNEY: Laid low by back spasm, Jasprit Bumrah was left frustrated for missing out bowling on the "spiciest wicket of the series" but the premier India pacer emphasized that sometimes it becomes imperative for a player to respect his body.
Bumrah could not bowl on day three when India needed to defend a small 162-run target on a tricky wicket.
Australia needed just 27 overs to overhaul the target and claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years as they took advantage of Bumrah's absence.
"It was really frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body, can't fight it. Disappointing, probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series," Bumrah said, who was named Player of the Series for his 32 wickets in the series, during the post-match presentation.
"Felt a bit of discomfort during my second spell in the first innings and had to check it out. " Resuming day three at 141 for six, India lost their remaining four wickets for 16 runs to be all out for 157 in their second innings.
Asked about the discussion in the morning, Bumrah said: "The chat this morning was about the same thing, about having belief and showing character. Lots of ifs and buts, the whole series was fought hard, we were in the game today as well, not like we were out of it, this is how Test cricket goes."
"Being in the game for longer, creating pressure, absorbing pressure and playing to the situation are all important. You have to adapt to the situations and these learnings will help us in the future."
Bumrah added that the experience of playing in Australia will help young players like Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana in future.
"They've (youngsters) gained a lot of experience, they'll go from strength to strength. We've shown that we have a lot of talent in our group.
"Lot of the youngsters are keen, they're disappointed that we haven't won but they'll take learnings from this experience. It was a great series, congratulations to Australia, they fought really well."
Travis Head, who emerged as the highest run-scorer in the series with 446 runs, heaped praise on Bumrah.
"He's a great performer, he had an exceptional tour. It is the best invididual performance I have seen in Test cricket," Head said.