Indian pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy 2025 remains uncertain as he continues to recover from an injury sustained during the Sydney Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The injury has sidelined Bumrah, and he has been consulting doctors at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, who will eventually make the final call on his availability for the marquee event.
BCCI to Finalize Decision Soon
According to ESPNcricinfo, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will determine Bumrah’s fate on February 11, the last date for squad submissions to the ICC. Bumrah has already submitted his medical scans to the NCA’s staff, who will assess his condition before holding discussions with the Indian team management. He has been included in the 15-member squad announced by the BCCI, but his fitness remains a concern.
Another report hints that the BCCI may persist with Bumrah in Champions Trophy squad too if there are any chances at all of regaining fitness in time. It can seek for a replacement by the technical committee of the tournament at a later date if his fitness does not improve.
“Even if there is 1% of chance, then BCCI might wait,” it added. They do the same with Hardik Pandya as they had to wait for nearly two weeks to get Prasidh Krishna as a replacement. Nor did they even think of looking for a replacement when Shubman Gill got dengue. Yes, those two incidents are during the campaign but the approach with Bumrah could well be no different. This is just the deadline to submit the squad and they could approach the Event Technical Committee at a later stage to seek a replacement if he fails to regain fitness,” the Times of India reported.
Harshit Rana Could Be a Potential Replacement
Reports indicate that the BCCI is considering Harshit Rana as a possible replacement if Bumrah does not recover in time. A member of the ongoing ODI series against England, Rana is gaining valuable experience on the field in each of the matches he plays, making him quite a strong candidate to step in when needed.
India will start their Champions Trophy against Bangladesh on February 20. The final decision about Bumrah’s fitness has fans and experts on the edge of their seats as this can greatly change the dynamics of India’s bowling line-up in this tournament.
