BCCI is yet to come up with a final word on Jasprit Bumrah's participation in Champions Trophy 2025 amidst superstar pacer fitness concerns. Reportedly, Bumrah will start his light bowling and gym sessions at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) which will be conducted the supervision of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Bumrah underwent scans last week, and the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical in determining his fitness and subsequent inclusion in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad. BCCI's medical staff and selectors and the team management will now asses the situation and accordingly will reach out to final conclusion on pace spearhead's fitness.
Final call on Jasprit Bumrah's availability for Champions Trophy to be taken on February 11
Meanwhile, the final call on Bumrah's availability for Champions Trophy will be taken on February 11, which is the deadline for all the teams to submit their final squads to ICC.
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Bumrah was named in India's provisional 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy on January 18. However, he has been unable to participate in the ODI series against England, India's final matches before the tournament gets underway from February 19. Despite hopes he might play in the third ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, Bumrah has instead travelled to Bengaluru for rehabilitation.
Bumrah's last appearance was in the Sydney Test against Australia in early January during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he picked up the back injury. Bumrah was forced out of the match midway through the match and underwent scans after which it was figured out that he is suffering from back spasms.
The decision now entirely rests with the BCCI. In case Bumrah ends up missing the Champions Trophy, Harshit Rana might replace him and walk into the side. Notably, Rana played in the first two ODIs against England. However, if there's a chance Bumrah could recover and play later in the tournament, India might retain him in the squad and make a replacement later, subject to ICC approval.
India, who are placed in Group A along with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, will start their Champions Trophy campaign February 20. After taking on Bangladesh in their tournament opener, they will lock horns with their arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23 before meeting New Zealand in their last league match on March 2.
India's Champions Trophy squad:
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja