ICC Champions Trophy 2025: 'Learn to play without Jasprit Bumrah' - Rohit Sharma issued strict message

Legendary India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has picked Team India as the favorites to win the upcoming Champions Trophy despite the absence of the bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Harbhajan feels that Bumrah's absence will be felt but India still have the capability to win the tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah has been India's best player across formats for the last year or so. The fast bowler has been instrumental in winning a no. of games for his team which makes him such a crucial part of this team.

However, India will be playing without Bumrah in the Champions Trophy 2025 as the fast bowler has been ruled out due to injury. While a bowler of his caliber is irreplaceable, the Men in Blue will have to find ways to deal without their best bowler.

Also read: WPL 2025: Smriti Mandhana kicks aside Virat Kohli question at the press conference

Harbhajan Singh on Jasprit Bumrah's absence

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh picked India as the favorites despite Jasprit Bumrah's absence. The former India offspinner feels that India still have variety in their bowling attack and have the capability to win matches.

"I still believe India is the favourite in the Champions Trophy. (Jasprit) Bumrah is a big force, who can win matches. Even without Bumrah, there are a lot of experienced players like Arshdeep (Singh), (Mohammed) Shami, Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Ravindra) Jadeja," Harbhajan said.

With Bumrah not in the squad, the onus will be on the experienced Mohammed Shami to lead the bowling attack with the new ball. India also have the left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh who is a capable death bowler.

Why are India the favorites? Harbhajan Singh reveals

Further speaking in the video, Harbhajan Singh revealed why India are the favorites for the Champions Trophy. He believes that the batters are in great form and bowlers have also responded well in the ODI series against England.

He reckons that Jasprit Bumrah's bowling will be missed in the slog overs during the crunch situations. However, he asked the team to learn to play without Bumrah if they aim to win big tournaments.

"I call India a favourite because of its capability. Rohit (Sharma) is back in form, Virat has scored runs, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer keep on scoring runs. So batting and bowling departments are performing well," Harbhajan noted.

"I think Bumrah's absence will be felt in the last couple of overs when the opposition will need a few runs with just two or three wickets in hand. But I think if you want to win the tournament, you should learn to play without Bumrah," he added.

What happened to Jasprit Bumrah?

Jasprit Bumrah got injured during the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Bumrah suffered back spasms in between the Sydney Test and was ruled out of the match.

He was selected in India's preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy with the hope of being fully fit for the tournament. However, he still requires some time to be back on the field and the Indian team management doesn't want to risk their premier bowler.