Courtesy: BCCI/ICC
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah played a vital role in India’s impactful campaigns in the World Cup 2023 and T20 World Cup 2024, with his stunning bowling performances. However, the star speedster won’t show up for the Rohit Sharma-led side in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, due to his back injury. Team India supporters are worried about Bumrah’s absence from the squad but BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has exuded confidence over India’s bench strength and also feels the star speedster’s unavailability won’t impact Team India’s campaign in the colossal ODI event to be played in Asian nations Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
While speaking to IANS, the BCCI official looked confident and said, “We have picked the best team for the Champions Trophy. And I believe we will win the trophy. India has such a big bench strength, and I don’t think it (Jasprit Bumrah’s absence) will have any major issue with the team combination.”
Bumrah’s back issues impacted India’s performance in ICC events
In the past, Jasprit Bumrah’s back spasm impacted India’s performance in ICC events such as World Cup 2022 and World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final played at the Oval. His unavailability cost India both events as the team’s bowling looked lacklustre. In his absence, Mohammed Shami will be expected to step up and spearhead the side’s bowling attack from the front. Young pacers Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana will also have to play their part efficiently.
Bumrah put up a magnificent bowling show for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, grabbing 32 wickets in nine innings of five matches. These numbers also helped him top the chart for bowlers with leading wicket-takers in the series. Riding on his bowling heroics (5/30 and 3/42), India won their only game of the series at the Optus Stadium by a huge margin of 295 runs.
