ICC Champions Trophy 2025: BCCI reveals real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's non-selection despite 'OK' report
Published - 12 Feb 2025, 02:50 PM | Updated - 12 Feb 2025, 02:51 PM
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Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to a lower back injury. The BCCI ended all speculations about Jasprit Bumrah’s participation by announcing Harshit Rana as the senior pacer’s replacement for the prestigious tournament.
India’s premier fast bowler, who underwent lower back surgery in 2022, has been struggling with another stress-related injury that ruled him out of the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney. He has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Jasprit Bumrah left out of the ICC Champions Trophy squad despite satisfactory scan reports!!
It is being said that Jasprit Bumrah was not picked for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 despite having completed his rehab at the NCA, and his scan reports were satisfactory, which raised many eyebrows. But the latest revelations would certainly clear all the air on why the Indian chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, went against picking Bumrah for the marquee event.
A top BCCI official revealed that Bumrah was given five weeks of rest before starting his rehabilitation under the guidance of NCA’s strength and conditioning trainer Rajnikanth and physio Thulasi. But the NCA medical team could not give a guarantee whether Bumrah would be ready to play from the start of the tournament despite the scan reports being satisfactory.
Nitin Patel left the ball in Ajit Agarkar's court: BCCI source
The BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI on conditions of anonymity: “The report sent by NCA head Nitin Patel clearly states that while he has completed his rehabilitation and scan reports seemed to be okay, it couldn't be concluded whether he would be bowling fit by the time the tournament starts. Hence, the selectors didn't take any risk.”
However, Jasprit Bumrah could still have been selected; the NCA, led by Nitin Patel, left the final decision in Ajit Agarkar's hands. But given Bumrah’s past incident and the medical team’s ‘unfit’ assessment, the selectors decided against taking any risks with their premier fast bowler.
The BCCI official further noted, “Nitin left the ball in Ajit's court, and hence no one would want to stick their necks out and take the risk of putting an unfit player in the squad. If the medical team doesn't green-light fully, how can the selection committee take that risk?”
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Jasprit Bumrah’s past injury scare forces Indian selectors to take no risks this time
Notably, Bumrah was rushed back too soon during the bilateral series against Australia in 2022, and it had led to a long-term injury that sidelined him for nearly a year, and the pacer had missed the T20 World Cup. So, this time, the selectors avoided taking that risk and kept him away from the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, starting on February 19.
The official signed off by saying, “The stakes are too high, and it would have been a complete embarrassment had Bumrah broken down in a match. The NCA, led by Nitin Patel, had once burnt their hands in 2022 when they pushed Bumrah for the bilateral series against Australia before the T20 World Cup, and he had broken down to be out for one year. That was Chetan Sharma's committee, and so Agarkar didn't want to take a chance.”
