Indian cricket’s worst fears have turned into reality with news today that Jasprit Bumrah will not make it to the ICC Champions Trophy. The BCCI’s medical team apprised the national selectors and Indian team management about Bumrah’s fitness, and the decision was taken to omit Bumrah, 31, from the eight-team tournament starting on February 19.
In his place, Harshit Rana has been named as India’s fourth pace option alongside Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya.
The only other change is that Yashasvi Jaiswal has been dropped to accommodate a fifth spinner in Varun Chakravarthy.
Bumrah, who has not played an ODI since the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, had on January 19 been named in India’s provision 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy with the hope that he could play the third and final match of the ongoing series with England in Ahmedabad on February 12. However, the BCCI silently removed Bumrah’s name from the third ODI squad while adding the uncapped Chakravarthy, who made his debut on the second match in Cuttack last week.
With Bumrah unavailable, the rookie pace bowler Rana made his ODI debut in the England series and has taken four wickets in two games. Shami featured in both ODIs and has proved his fitness – he also played two T20Is against England recently – to slot in as India’s most experienced bowler in the squad. Chakravarthy, India’s second oldest ODI debutant at 35, has been added to the squad as well, at the expense of Jaiswal who debuted in the recent Nagpur match.
To fit Jaiswal into the ODI XI last week, the team management informed Shreyas Iyer, who has a batting average of over 51 when batting at No 4 in ODIs, that he was deemed surplus to India’s requirements. Iyer did end up playing in Nagpur once Virat Kohli pulled up with a sore knee, but the team’s decision to bench their best No 4 for an uncapped opener now appears strange, given how quickly they have dispended of Jaiswal from the ODI squad altogether.
India open their Champions Trophy on February 20 against Bangladesh, followed by games with Pakistan on February 23 and New Zealand on March 2.
India’s Champions Trophy squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill (v/c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana
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