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Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the Champions Trophy 2025 is likely to be decided on Tuesday, which also happens to be the deadline for submission of the final squads to the ICC. Bumrah, India's best performer in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has been sidelined due to injury since the final Test of the series. The star fast bowler had to pull out mid-match after he felt pain in his back while bowling in Sydney in the first week of January. Since then, he has not played any cricket match.
Bumrah was named in the India squad for the third ODI against England (on Wednesday in Ahmedabad)and also in the provisional squad for the Champions Trophy. According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, Bumrah recently underwent a scan of his back at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The report also claimed that BCCI medical staff will now give the details to the selectors and the team management. A final decision may be taken on Tuesday.
The report also claimed that Harshit Rana is likely to be named Bumrah's replacement if the latter does not get fit on time. Tuesday is the last date the teams can change their squads without any approval from the tournament's technical committee. After that, if a change needs to be made, the ICC will have to be informed and permission needs to be taken.
According to a report by news agency PTI, it is expected that the team would wait till the last moment in order to get him ready for the marquee ICC event. "Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach Rajnikanth Sivagnanam and physio Thulasi Ram Yuvraj are currently working on Bumrah's rehabilitation with Head of Sports Science, Dr Nitin Patel, personally monitoring the whole process. Obviously, the national team S&C coach Soham Desai and physio Kamlesh Jain are also kept in the loop," a senior BCCI official told the news agency.
If Bumrah does not play in the Champions Trophy, then it will be a massive blow for the Indian cricket team, who are desperate for a morale-boosting win after repeated losses since the T20 World Cup win last year.
"Bumrah not fit will reduce India's chances (of winning the Champions Trophy) by 30 percent, literally by 30-35 percent. With a fully fit Bumrah playing, you are guaranteed of those deathovers. It would've been a different ball game altogether," opined Ravi Shastri, former India coach, recently.