By Karan Agrawal 
India’s fast bowling spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy scheduled to begin from February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai and has been replaced by Harshit Rana, who made his ODI debut in the ongoing three-match series against England at home. Bumrah picked up a back injury during the fifth and final test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy last month and was unable to bowl in Australia’s second innings. After bowling a couple of overs in the early stages of the second day’s play, the fast bowler left the ground and was taken for scans. He did come out to bat for India in the second innings but wasn’t able to make a significant contribution.
The Decision
“Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy due to a lower back injury. The Men’s Selection Committee has named Harshit Rana as Bumrah’s replacement,” the BCCI said in a release late night on Tuesday. Along with Bumrah, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s name has also been withdrawn from the preliminary 15-member squad, with Varun Chakarvarthy named as his replacement. “Team India have also named Varun Chakaravarthy in the squad. The spinner will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was initially named in the provisional squad,” the release added. Having said that, Jaiswal will be traveling to Dubai with the Indian team as a reserve along with all-rounder Shivam Dube and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj. According to the BCCI release, “The three players will travel to Dubai as and when required.”
The Concern
Bumrah’s injury is a major setback for a bowling lineup that lacks experience as two of India’s three experienced fast bowlers, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, who were instrumental in guiding India to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, will not be a part of the 15 member squad with Mohammed Shami being the only pacer with a significant amount of experience in ODI cricket. Although this will be Shami’s second outing in the Champions Trophy, there are concerns about the fast bowler’s fitness as he is making a comeback in international cricket after 15 months and hasn’t looked effective in the handful of matches he has played so far.
The Change
All things said, the one selection call that has caught everyone’s attention is that of Varun Chakarvarthy. Although there were high chances of him getting a place in the squad, which he did, experts thought that he would replace one of the spinners as India had already picked four spinners in the squad, and his inclusion takes the telly to five at the expense of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India’s Updated Champions Trophy Squad
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy