You can't replace Jasprit Bumrah, it's like going to FIFA World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo: Steve Harmison

Jasprit Bumrah's participation is highly unlikely at the ICC Champions Trophy

The participation of Jasprit Bumrah in the ICC Champions Trophy, which gets underway from February 19, remains a hot topic in the cricket world. February 11 is the deadline to make any changes in the provisional squad submitted by the participating teams at the marquee tournament. However, there still is no clarity over Bumrah's fitness as both skipper Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja hoped for a positive update when they were asked about the same by reporters.

Bumrah has been out of action since the final Test against Australia in Sydney, when the pacer left the field due to back spasms. As reported by the Indian Express earlier, Bumrah had developed a swelling on his back and would need more time to recover. The national daily in their report had mentioned that the pacer even if kept in the squad will be in danger of missing of the group stage clashes, which begins from February 20.

India open their campaign against Bangladesh, following which they will lock horns with arch rivals Pakistan on February 23. The final group stage match is scheduled against New Zealand, which will be played on March 2.

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Reflecting his thoughts on Bumrah's participation, former England pacer Steve Harmison opined that India should still keep Bumrah in the squad regardless of him being fit or not. The ex-cricketer also drew an interesting analogy by comparing the stature of Bumrah with legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He’s Jasprit Bumrah. For me, you can’t replace Jasprit Bumrah anytime,” Harmison said on TalkSport cricket. “And I mean, I would even go up to the morning of the final to take him that far because he’s Jasprit Bumrah. He’s the best in the world. So that would be my take on from an Indian point of view.

“It’s like going to a football World Cup with your best striker, Cristiano Ronaldo. 15 years ago you don’t replace Ronaldo until you have to replace him. So I think I would imagine that’s what India will do. Just put him in the squad and carry him around in a sedan chair. It’s a 14-man squad. That’s good enough to get me through the group games.

"We might get him by semifinal, more than the semifinal. If he’s not fit, we’ll replace him just in case we have another injury. But he’s Jasprit Bumrah,” he added.

Whether Bumrah will be part of the tournament or not depends on an official update by BCCI as we stand just a few hours away from the deadline.