The Indian cricket team will play in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who recently won the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year Award for the year 2024.
Bumrah has been dropped from the preliminary squad because he has not fully recovered from a back injury he suffered during last month's Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
The absence of Bumrah will be a huge setback for the team at the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 as the seasoned pacer has been India's best bowler in recent times.
The Men's National Selection Committee, which on Tuesday named India's final squad for the Champions Trophy, has named pace-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana as a replacement for Bumrah.
Team India has also named spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who had impressed everyone with his superb bowling in the five-match T20I series with England, in the squad for the Champions Trophy.
The spinner, who was also a last-minute call-up into the ODI squad against England after impressing head coach Gautam Gambhir with his skills, will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal who was initially named in the provisional squad.
Bumrah had suffered a back injury while leading India in the fifth and final Test of the Board-Gavaskar Trophy series in Sydney. He was India's best bowler in Australia, claiming the most wickets for the visitors, and troubled every batter with his brilliant control and aggressive bowling.
Bumrah was the star of the Indian team's triumph in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 and would have been crucial to India's chances in the Champions Trophy, which will be played in Pakistan and UAE from February 19.
Harshit Rana, who has been named Bumrah's replacement, impressed everyone with his superb debut in the ODI series against England recently. He had also claimed three wickets on his T20I debut as a concussion substitute against England.
The squad released by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia will be led by Rohit Sharma, who returned to form with a century in the second ODI against England in Cuttack on Sunday.
With Yashasvi Jaiswal being dropped to the Non-travelling substitutes, Rohit will open the innings alongside vice-captain Shubman Gill. Rishabh Pant will continue to vie for the wicketkeeper's spot with K.L Rahul, who was preferred by the team management in the first two matches of the ODI series against England.
In Bumrah's absence, Mohammed Shami will spearhead the pace attack with Arshdeep and Harshit Rana contending for the other spots while Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy will fight it out for the spinner's slot with spin-bowling all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.
India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy, 2025: 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, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Non-travelling substitutes: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube. The three players will travel to Dubai as and when required.
