In a significant blow to India, star pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 due to injury.
The right-arm pacer sustained a lower back injury during the final Test against Australia in Sydney last month.
According to a statement issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the selection committee named pacer Harshit Rana as Bumrah’s replacement.
According to Cricinfo, Bumrah’s most recent scans, which he had over the weekend in Bengaluru, did not show anything concerning.
The report further stated that the timeline of his return has not been confirmed. He will likely resume running in a couple of weeks and then bowl gradually after that. The BCCI’s medical team in Bengaluru will monitor his progress.
Furthermore, India has also named mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy in the squad. The spinner will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal, initially named in the provisional squad.
Rana, who made his Test debut down under, has been sensational in the past few months. He played a vital role by taking crucial wickets in team India’s victory over England in the five-match T20I series.
He also made a notable contribution to the first One Day International, bagging 3-53 at an important stage of the match.
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For the unversed, Bumrah arrived at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru on 3 February to have his injured back scanned.
Last month, the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, revealed that Jasprit Bumrah would miss the first two ODIs of the home series against England while announcing the squad.
This is the second ICC tournament Bumrah will miss due to injury. He sat out the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia due to a back injury, eventually forcing him to have surgery.
It is pertinent to mention that the ICC had set February 11 as the deadline for all participating teams to submit their final squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.
From now on, any subsequent changes to the team will need approval from the tournament’s technical committee.
India’s squad for the Champions Trophy
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy
Non-travelling substitutes: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube
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