Champions Trophy 2025: Miracle if Jasprit Bumrah gets fully fit for ICC event, India handed major blow - Report

Jasprit Bumrah suffered an injury during the fifth and final Test against Australia. (PTI Photo)

Champions Trophy 2025: Team India's chances of fielding a fully fit squad for the Champions Trophy suffer a fresh blog with report suggesting that pacer Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to get fully fit for the ICC event. Bumrah suffered an injury during the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney and has been in touch with Dr. Rowan Schouten in New Zealand as per reports. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are currently preparing for a 'backup' with his chances of being 100% fit in time are being considered slim.

As per a Times of India report, BCCI and the selectors are considering Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj as backup option for Bumrah if the pace sensational fails to recover in time for the ICC Champions Trophy beginning next month in February.

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"The BCCI medical team is in touch with Schouten in New Zealand. The board had also planned a visit for Bumrah to New Zealand. But that hasn't happened yet. The selectors know it will be a miracle if Bumrah turns up 100% fit in the given timeline," a BCCI source told TOI.

While Rana is part of the upcoming ODI series against England, Mohammed Siraj has been dropped from both the ODI series and Champions Trophy provisional squad announced by Team India. Dr. Schouten is the one who operaed Bumrah after the fast-bowler missed the 2022 T20 World Cup.

"The reports will be shared with his doctor in New Zealand. Sending Bumrah to New Zealand will depend on the feedback. The board and Bumrah himself are not willing to push hard given his significance over a long period of time," the report quoted a source as saying.

"The selectors will only be informed if he is ready to take the field after the entire process is complete. The selectors will need to keep a backup plan ready for him. It will be a miracle if Bumrah makes it," the source further said.

While the report suggests that Bumrah has been asked to rest and not do any physical exercise, the pacer recently dismissed the reports that he has been adviced bed rest ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Bumrah has been asked to refrain from any rigorous physical exercise, making it difficult for him to be fit in time for the Champions Trophy. The BCCI can make changes to India's squad for the event by February 11. Earlier, a Times of India report suggested that Bumrah had been instructed to rest at home, casting doubts over his availability for the tournament set to begin on February 19. The report also mentioned that he would need to report to the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, although the date for his check-in was unspecified.

Also Read - 'Fake news is easy to spread but...': Jasprit Bumrah reacts to 'bed rest' injury report amid Champions Trophy concerns

"I know fake news is easy to spread, but this made me laugh. Sources unreliable," Bumrah wrote on X, adding a couple of laughing emojis.