The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced its final squad for the Champions Trophy. The last date for changes in the squad is February 12. The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced the team on Tuesday, making two changes. India faced a major setback as Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament due to injury, while Yashasvi Jaiswal was also not included in the squad. Harshit Rana has been selected as Bumrah’s replacement, and Varun Chakaravarthy has been included in place of Jaiswal. However, a report by news agency PTI suggests that the NCA had declared Bumrah fit, raising questions about why he was not selected. The report also states that the final decision on Bumrah was made by Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, who consulted coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma.
NCA Declared Bumrah Fit
Before allowing a player to return to cricket, the NCA evaluates two fitness parameters. Bumrah had undergone back surgery in 2022 and took about ten months to recover before making a comeback in 2023. However, he faced issues again during the Sydney Test on the Australia tour. Following this, he was sent for five to six weeks of rehabilitation at the NCA, where he worked with strength and conditioning trainer Rajnikanth and physio Tulsi. A BCCI source told PTI that NCA head Nitin Patel had declared Bumrah medically fit after rehabilitation. The NCA’s sports and medical science team then left the final selection decision to Ajit Agarkar and the selection committee.
Discussion Between Agarkar, Gambhir, and Rohit
Despite being declared fit, there were concerns about whether Bumrah was ready for high-intensity bowling in a big tournament like the Champions Trophy. When the decision was left to Agarkar, he discussed the matter with captain Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir in Ahmedabad. They debated whether it was wise to select Bumrah, who was not fully match-fit, or opt for a fully fit bowler like Harshit Rana. Since the selectors did not want to take any risks, they agreed not to include an unfit player in the squad. It was also noted that even though Bumrah was declared fit, the NCA could not confirm if he would be able to bowl throughout the tournament, leading to the decision to exclude him.
Bumrah’s Injury History and IPL Comeback
In 2022, a similar mistake was made when Bumrah was rushed back into the team for a bilateral series against Australia before the T20 World Cup. This aggravated his injury, and at the time, the selection committee was led by Chetan Sharma. Learning from that, Agarkar did not want to take any chances. Reports suggest that Bumrah has not yet resumed full-intensity bowling, and experts believe it will be difficult for him to regain full match fitness in such a short time. Instead, he is expected to make his return in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and later lead India in England, as Rohit Sharma is unlikely to be selected for Test matches again.
Two KKR Players in the Squad
Varun Chakaravarthy has been selected as the fifth spinner in the team for the Champions Trophy after playing in the recent T20 and ODI series against England. Jaiswal was left out because Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will open the innings. If needed, either Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul could be used as an opener. Jaiswal has been included in the traveling reserves along with Shivam Dube (backup for Hardik Pandya) and Mohammed Siraj (backup for Mohammed Shami). Reports suggest that two players in the squad, Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy, were picked based on coach Gautam Gambhir’s recommendations. Coincidentally, both are part of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
India’s Final Squad for Champions Trophy:
- Rohit Sharma (Captain)
- Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain)
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper)
- Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper)
- Hardik Pandya
- Axar Patel
- Washington Sundar
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Harshit Rana
- Mohammed Shami
- Arshdeep Singh
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Varun Chakaravarthy
Traveling Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Mohammed Siraj.