The Indian team has suffered a big setback before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. BCCI has confirmed this news. Young fast bowler Harshit Rana has been included in the team in place of Bumrah.
India’s final team – Champions Trophy 2025
With the deadline of February 11 approaching, the Indian selectors had to take a decision regarding Bumrah’s fitness. Given his injury, bumrah ruled out. India’s 15-member squad is as follows:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubhman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), hardik pandya, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakraborty (new selection), Harshit Rana (inducted in place of Bumrah)
Reserve players: Mohammad Siraj, Shivam Dubey, Yashasvi Jaiswal (was in the team earlier but was later dropped)
These three players will go to Dubai if needed.
BCCI said:
This is the second time that Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of an ICC tournament due to injury. Earlier, he could not play in the 2022 T20 World Cup due to a back injury and later had to undergo surgery.
Harshit Rana Replaces Bumrah
Harshit Rana has been included in the team in place of Bumrah, who recently made his debut in the ODI series against England. In the first ODI played against England in Nagpur, he shared the new ball with Mohammed Shami. Although, initially he was given a lot of runs by English batsman Phil Salt, but despite this he contributed to India’s victory in the match by taking three wickets.
Young fast bowler Harshit Rana has been given a chance in place of Bumrah. This 22 year old bowler has performed brilliantly in domestic cricket and IPL. His fast bowling and aggression make him special. Rana was already kept as a backup bowler in the series against England. The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar along with head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma, gave him priority in the team. Mohammed Siraj, who is considered to be India’s most experienced fast bowler after Bumrah and Shami, was not included in the team.
Rohit Sharma had said in January that Siraj’s effectiveness reduces when he does not take the new ball. Therefore, the team management has given the responsibility of opening the innings to Shami and bowling in the death overs to Arshdeep Singh.
Read More:Injuries list increases before Champions Trophy 2025, after Bumrah and Cummins see who joined?
BCCI has also included Varun Chakraborty in the squad, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was in the squad earlier, has now been kept among the reserve players. Jaiswal will now be among the non-travelling reserve players along with Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dubey.
Rohit Sharma had earlier also indicated that Chakraborty’s place in the team could be confirmed. He had said that this bowler can become a challenge for the opposition teams due to his unique style. Chakraborty has taken 31 wickets at an average of 11.25 since his return to the T20 team. Apart from this, recently he also made his ODI debut in Cuttack and took 1 wicket for 54 runs.
In the recent scan conducted in Bengaluru, Bumrah’s injury was not found to be serious, but he is not completely ready to bowl yet. As of now, he can start running in two weeks and then gradually start bowling. The BCCI medical team will keep an eye on his recovery.
India’s Champions Trophy fixtures
India will start its campaign against Bangladesh. India’s schedule is as follows:
- 20 February: India vs Bangladesh (Dubai)
- 23 February: India vs Pakistan (Dubai)
- 27 February: India vs South Africa (Dubai)
- March 3: Semi-finals (if qualified)
- 9 March: Final (if qualified)
