Team India has suffered a major setback ahead of the Champions Trophy, with star pacer Jasprit Bumrah ruled out due to a lower back injury. Harshit Rana has been named as his replacement.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed Bumrah’s absence in a statement released on Tuesday night.
“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 statement read.
Another major change in India’s 15-member squad is the exclusion of youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal, with mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy coming in as his replacement.
“Team India has also included Varun Chakaravarthy in the squad. The spinner will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was initially named in the provisional squad,” the statement added.
Bumrah has been out of action since January, with his last appearance coming in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia in Sydney. After bowling 10.1 overs in the first innings, he was visibly in discomfort and underwent scans. Australian doctors advised him not to participate in the remainder of the Test. Although he came out to bat in the second innings, he did not bowl again.
Jaiswal’s omission follows his underwhelming ODI debut in the series opener against England, where he scored 15 off 22 balls. He was subsequently dropped for the second ODI in favor of Virat Kohli, while Chakaravarthy was handed his ODI debut, returning figures of 1/54 in his 10-over spell.
India will kick off its Champions Trophy campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai.
India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025:
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, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Non-traveling substitutes: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Shivam Dube. The three players will travel to Dubai if required.
