Bumrah ruled out of CT, relief for Bangladesh

Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of India’s Champions Trophy squad. The fast bowler has not fully recovered from his back injury, meaning India will have to compete in the tournament without their destructive pacer.

Bumrah sustained a back problem during the Test series against Australia. Although he was included in India’s preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy, concerns remained over his fitness. The latest update suggests he will need around five more weeks to recover. His absence is a big blow for India but brings relief for Bangladesh, as the Tigers' batsmen won’t have to face this dangerous pacer. Bumrah’s lethal, high-speed deliveries are a nightmare for any batsman, and without him, India's pace attack loses significant strength.

Harshit Rana has been named as Bumrah’s replacement in the squad. The young pacer made his India debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last November after an impressive IPL performance. He is also part of the ongoing ODI series against England, where he took four wickets in the first two matches. At just 23 years old, India is placing its trust in him.

India’s squad also features another surprise—off-spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been included in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal. Varun, who transitioned from engineering to professional cricket, was the Player of the Series in India’s recent T20I series against England.

India’s squad: 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.

Reserve : Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube.