Bumrah was the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, as he picked up 32 wickets in the five Test matches. However, the pacer got injured during the Sydney Test, forcing him to leave the field. Some discomfort on his back prevented him from taking the field when Australia was chasing their target in the second innings.

Ex-BCCI S&C head Ramji Srinivasan urged the Indian selectors to not rush Bumrah for the Champions Trophy 2025.
“Bumrah is a treasure and he should be handled with care. A Champions Trophy is not the end of the world. If there is the slightest doubt, he shouldn’t be in the squad. Five back-to-back Test matches isn’t something he has ever played in his cricketing career,” Srinivasan said.

“I agree that if it is only spasms, he should be fit. In fact, he might be feeling alright even before he boarded the flight back home. But, I am not so sure about it. The injury is related to stress, which is a direct result of playing too much cricket. If it is anything between a Grade 1 to Grade 3 injury related to stress fracture, it can take up to one to six months of recovery,” he added.

Despite Bumrah’s dangerous bowling, Indian team failed to keep the BGT title, as they lost the series 3-1. The Indian team is currently preparing for the England ODI series, which is going to be the last assignment for the team before the Champions Trophy 2025. Bumrah will mot likely miss that series because of workload management.

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The first Indian to feature in the SA20 is Dinesh Karthik, who declared his retirement from international cricket last year. The former RCB wicketkeeper is now going to represent Paar Royals in the third season of SA20 league.

The brand ambassador of the Paar Royals, AB de Villiers, was somewhat excited about the involvement of Dinesh Karthik, and stated that is will increase the awareness of the tournament.

“I would love to see more Indian players involved. We know Dinesh Karthik will be here this year, which is fantastic, and it’s great for the tournament. Hopefully, the BCCI will allow us to get more Indian players in the future to come and join the fun of SA20,” AB de Villiers said during a media interaction.

Active Indian players are normally prohibited by the BCCI to play in foreign leagues. Though women are given the allowance to play in English and Australian cricket leagues, senior men have strict regulations. A number of veterans have started to retire earlier then expected in order to have their chance in foreign leagues.

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Since his decision to opt out from the Sydney Test, there have been rumours about his retirement, even though he claimed that he is not finished yet, and that he is going nowhere. However, the BCCI and the chief selector Ajit Agarkar are not giving any thought to this decision by the Indian skipper.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, new BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia is all ready to sit with the Indian team management, along with chief selector Ajit Agarkar and review the performance in the BGT. The future of Rohit Sharma in Tests will also be something to be discussed about, and they are not paying attention to the interview where the 37-year-old declared that he isn’t going anywhere.

The final call on Rohit Sharma’s future rests only on Ajit Agarkar. The report also revealed that Rohit Sharma dropped himself from the final Test in order to have one final chance to qualify for the WTC 2025 final.

“Rohit was waiting to see if India could find an escape route to the WTC final. Now, it’s really up to him whether to continue to fight for a spot. But the decision will be down to Ajit Agarkar and his selection committee,” a BCCI official, on request of anonymity told Hindustan Times

Rohit Sharma’s total of 31 runs from 5 innings, means that he scored at an average of 6.20, which is the worst by a touring captain in Australia. In the last 8 Test matches, Rohit Sharma has scored 164 runs at an average of just over 10.

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The West indies great stated that this plan violates the significance of a global game, and will have a bad effect towards the growth of the sport. He also expressed concern about the marginalization that is possible towards the small cricketing nations.

“I think it will be terrible for all those countries who work so hard to get to Test match status and now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section,” Lloyd was quoted as saying in the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian.

“You could imagine they’re talking about dismantling the West Indies, that is not the way to go. The way to go is to give them (West Indies and other teams) the same amount of money so they can improve their facilities, get better systems in place so that they can improve their cricket,” the 80-year-old added.

The Sydney Morning Herald had reported that later this month ICC Chairman Jay Shah will have a meeting with the officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia Chairman Mike Baird, and England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Richard Thompson in order to go over the specifics.

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India’s performance in the red-ball cricket has attracted a lot of criticism in the recent times as they have faced back-to-back series defeats. Now, all the eyes will be on the ICC Champions Trophy, which is marking its return after eight long years.

The whole tournament was initially supposed to be held only in Pakistan, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send the Indian team to the neighbouring nation, which caused ICC to make arrangements for India’s matches to be held in Dubai. The Champions Trophy is going to take place from Frbuyary 19.

Rumours have been circulating for India’s squad for Champions Trophy, and now it has been reported that ICC has a deadline of January 12 for submission of provisional squads, with allowance to the teams to make changes until February 13.

“All teams need to submit their provisional squads by January 12 but (are) allowed to make changes till February 13,” said an ICC official.

The official also stated that it is their individual decision of the teams if they wish to announce their squad or not, as the ICC will eventually announce the squads on February 13.

“It is up to the teams whether they want to announce the squad or or not as the International Cricket Council (ICC) will release the submitted squads only on February 13,” the official added.

The team management is reported to consider Bumrah taking the vice-captaincy for the Champions Trophy, as he gave out impressive outcomes when captaining the Indian side in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

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Gavaskar believes that the Indian players should make themselves available at all costs unless there is a medical emergency and also advised the selectors to only pick the players who are fully committed to the side.

“I think the next 8–10 days are crucial for Indian cricket to take a good, honest look at itself. Most importantly, the star culture has to end. Total commitment to Indian cricket is non-negotiable. Players must make themselves available every single time unless there’s a genuine medical emergency. If someone isn’t fully committed, they shouldn’t be considered for selection,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Gavaskar also said that it is high time that BCCI put their foot down in certain matters and stop pampering the Indian cricketers.

“We don’t need players who are partly here and partly elsewhere. It’s time to stop pampering anyone. The recent results have been disappointing—we should have been in the World Test Championship final but didn’t make it,” Gavaskar said.

“The cricket board needs to stop acting like admirers and put their foot down. They must tell the players that Indian cricket comes first. It’s either a full commitment to Indian cricket or other priorities—you can’t have it both ways. If Indian cricket is your priority, only then should you be selected,” Gavaskar added.

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This decision has been taken by BCCI considering the Champions Trophy 2025, that is going to begin February 19. However, there is still no solid confirmation on the depths of Bumrah’s injury and how badly will he be affected.

A source close to the development told that Bumrah will be getting treated under his personal doctor, who operated on him in New Zealand along with the BCCI medical team. The nature of the injury, along with the status of Bumrah will be revealed in a few days, and only the doctors will have the final call on Bumrah’s future.

“What he has to do and what suggestions he has to take this is all between BCCI doctors and his doctor who had operated on him in New Zealand,  you will know in some days the exact nature of the injury and status….everything depends on him personally… He is in touch with doctors and he will be assessed further to know the exact injury and level, if he requires rest, he will be given there is no doubt about it but before that, we need to know his exact injury then only doctors will decide the next step call will be taken accordingly, as of now We can only hope and wish that he recovers soon,” the source stated.

According to a few reports, it was clear that Bumrah will not play in the T20I bilateral series since this is not the World Cup year. However, as the Champions Trophy comes close, he would have played two or even three ODIs against England because of the 50-over format of the game.

The severity of his injury will now declare whether Bumrah will take part in England series at all or will he only participate in the last game on February 12 in Ahmedabad. Indian team is going to face England in three ODIs and five T20Is, beginning January 22.

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All the matches of India are going to be held in Dubai, as it is decided as the neutral venue under the policy of hybrid model. Rohit Sharma will captain India in the Champions Trophy 2025. A few days after India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma officially announced as the skipper for the ICC tournament.

Shubman Gill was expected to help Rohit Sharma in the Champions Trophy because he was the vice-captain. However, that is not going to occur. According to a report, the ODI leadership group for the upcoming tournament will likely change. India’s vice captain for the 2025 Champions Trophy is going to be Jasprit Bumrah.

Bumrah has been a member of the Test cricket leadership group since 2022, and made his debut as the captain in the one-off Test match against England. He has also captained in two Test matches of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Now the BCCI is probably going to reveal the team for Champions Trophy and England series, where Bumrah looks like he will be missing majority of the England series.

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In the absence of Harmanpreet, opener Smriti Mandhana is going to lead the team. Spin-bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma will be the vice-captain for the series. Along with that, Shafali Varma continues to face the snub as youngster Pratika Rawal has impressed the selectors during her debut in the ODI series against West Indies.

The ODI matches will be played on January 10, 12 and 15, and all the matches will be played at the Niranjan Stadium in Rajkot.

India’s squad for the ODI series:
Smriti Mandhana (c), Deepti Sharma (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Sayali Satghare

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Through the whole series, Bumrah had bowled more than 150 overs. The medical staff of BCCI is going to ensure whether the star pacer is ready for the upcoming ICC tournament. The excessive hard work is directly related to his injury, and hence the medical staff will determine his presence for the assignments.

Sources have told PTI that it is yet unknown what is the level of Bumrah’s injury. On February 20 in Dubai, India will play against Bangladesh in the series opener of Champions Trophy. If his injury falls into Grade 1 category, it will take Bumrah at least two or three weeks of rehabilitation before he can return to play.

Since this is not the World Cup year, it was clear that Bumrah will not play in the bilateral T20I series. However, as the Champions Trophy comes close, he would have played two or three ODIs against England due to the 50-over format.

Indian team is to engage with England in 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs beginning January 22. The harshness of Bumrah’s injury will now determine whether he takes part in the England series at all, or at least the last game on February 12.

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