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.

The post ‘Take up to six months…’: Ex-BCCI S&C head makes MASSIVE remarks on Jasprit Bumrah’s injury ahead of Champions Trophy 2025 appeared first on Cricket Country.

A recent report had stated that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will most likely be India’s vice-captain for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has approved of this decision and believes that Gill has plenty of other things to worry about.

“There was some talk about Shubman Gill being there in Australia as the vice-captain, and look what happened. Bumrah, thankfully, was made the captain, with Rohit Sharma missing the first Test. Look where Gill’s career is right now. First, you should make the team on merit,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.

Manjrekar believes that the role of Test captain should be handed to Bumrah and he should be leading the Men in Blue during the 5-match Test series against England which is set to commence from June 20.

“It’s a no-brainer for me. The next Test series is going to be in England. So more of the same. Jasprit Bumrah has to be your next Test captain,” Manjrekar said.

Bumrah, who recently led India during the Perth and Sydney Tests in the Border-Gavaskar series, will now also act as the deputy to Rohit Sharma in one-day format.

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This comes after the duo failed to impress with the bat throughout the recently concluded 5-match Border-Gavaskar series. While Rohit scored just 31 runs from the 5 innings he played during the series, Kohli only managed to score a total of 190 runs he played against the Aussies.

On the other hand, India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah continued his reign at the top of the Test bowler rankings. Bumrah, who made history ahead of the fifth and final Test against Australia by recording the highest-ever ICC Rankings rating for an Indian bowler at 907 points, improved that tally by one point after taking two wickets in the first innings at the SCG.

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s blistering knock of 61 in Sydney saw him climb 3 places and reach the ninth spot on the batter rankings while Yashasvi Jaiswal retained his fourth position.

Australia pacer Scott Boland made a massive 29-place jump and reached the 9th position. Boland was the star performer for the Baggy Greens in the Sydney Test, picking up a total of 10 wickets on the lively pitch. Australia skipper Pat Cummins also made significant gain in the rankings, climbing to number two after picking up 5 wickets in the final match. 

Meanwhile, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma’s brilliant century against Pakistan saw him climb 3 spots and reach the number 6 spot while also achieving a career-best rating of 769. South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada rose a spot and occupied the third spot in the Test bowler rankings.

The post Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli see MAJOR drop in latest ICC Test Rankings following Border-Gavaskar series appeared first on Cricket Country.

Bumrah captained the Indian team in both the Perth and Sydney Tests in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series. While the Men in Blue did register a dominant 295-run victory in Perth under Bumrah’s leadership, they lost by 6 wickets in Sydney and the defeat saw Australia triumph in the series by 3-1.

The Indian team was captained by Rohit in the rest of the 3 Tests, however they weren’t able to register any victory in those games, drawing once and losing the other two.

Rohit was heavily criticized by fans and former cricketers alike for his abysmal batting display and also for his poor leadership. Many reports also claimed that he will announce his retirement from the format following the conclusion of the series. However, that hasn’t happened yet.

Now Kaif has claimed that instead of Rohit or Bumrah, either Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul should lead the Men in Blue in the 5-match England series.

“I want a batter to lead India in the Test series against England. Whether it is Rishabh Pant or K.L. Rahul. The first two have already worked. Rishabh Pant is the captain of the IPL. He is getting mature. K.L Rahul has worked for many years. So, these two can be a shake, but I don’t believe that Bumrah is the right option after Rohit Sharma,” Kaif said.

Defeat in the Sydney Test meant that the Men in Blue failed to secure a spot in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). The final will be played between Australia and South Africa later this year.

The post NOT Rohit Sharma or Jasprit Bumrah: Ex-India star picks captain for England Tests in viral video appeared first on Cricket Country.

According to a report by The Times of India, a former India pacer who suffered from the same injury stated that if it indeed is a back spasm then Bumrah should be fit for the ICC event, however if it turns out to be a grade 1 fracture, then Bumrah may spend a lot of time on the sidelines.

“It does depend on the final diagnosis of the injury. Back spasm is normally an orange light, it tells you that something worse could be in store and you need to stop at that point… Having suffered a lower back stress fracture earlier, Bumrah must have read the signs at the right time and decided to stop in Sydney,” the former India pacer told The Times of India.

“Most likely, this time he felt a tightness in the upper back. The reports have gone to his surgeon, we should have the final results very soon. My hunch is he will be part of the first squad that will be announced for CT. After all, you can have an injury replacement later,” the former bowler added.

Former India trainer Ramji Srinivasan also gave his views on Bumrah’s injury and said that back spasm is related to stress which is a direct result of playing too much cricket and added that a grade 1 or 3 stress fracture injury could take 1-6 months to fully recover.

“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,” Srinivasan told The Times of India.

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He took a total of three 5-wicket hauls and was given the Player of the Series award despite India comprehensively losing the series. Haddin compared Bumrah’s sensational series against the Aussies to Warne’s display in the 2005 Ashes where the spinner picked up 40 wickets despite England triumphing in the series.

“We have witnessed the greatness of Bumrah, the uniqueness of his action and how influential he was on every batter in the Australian team. It’s in the same conversation as Warney’s 2005 Ashes. That is exactly what it deserves. If he’s not there, Australia would probably win 5-0,” Haddin said on the Willow Talk podcast.

“By the time he finishes his career, we will be talking about him in the same breath as McGrath and Wasim Akram. He was so influential over the series. He has a unique action, skill, the way he gets the ball to move both ways. We made selection decisions to counter-act how good he was,” Haddin added.

However, Haddin believes that Bumrah has a long way to go before he can be compared to the likes of Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Curtley Ambrose etc.

“I would not put him on top of that league. He has got a long way to go. He has got 200 Test wickets. We hope to see him in some time. If he continues the same way he is going, his name will be in that conversation,” Haddin said.

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India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Australia skipper Pat Cummins were both among the star performers in BGT and thus rightfully received their nominations. South Africa pacer Dane Paterson, who played a key role in the Proteas’ victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, was also nominated for the award.

Bumrah claimed a highly impressive 22 scalps in Test matches during December. He rattled the Australian batters whenever he got the chance to do so and was undoubtedly India’s best player throughout the series. He was also awarded with the Player of the Series award for his sensational bowling performances.

On the other hand, Cummins was a standout performer with both the bat and the ball in the series against India and massively helped in guiding his team to the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Cummins showcased his fine form by claiming 17 wickets across 3 Tests against India in December at an impressive average of 17.64. The Australia skipper also played important knocks of 49 and 41 in the Melbourne Test.

Finally, Paterson played a crucial role in South Africa securing their place in the WTC final with victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan. His figures of 5/71 against the Lankan Lions and 5/61 against the Men in Green played a key role in the Proteas’ triumphs.

The post Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC Player of the Month award, to compete against THESE cricketers appeared first on Cricket Country.

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.

The post ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Selection Committee expected to announce the Indian squad soon? Report appeared first on Cricket Country.

Konstas was at the non-striker’s end when this happened when he got involved with Jasprit Bumrah as he was frustrated with Usman Khawaja’s tactics to waste time during the final over. He said something to Bumrah which broke the cool of Bumrah and the players got involved in a verbal altercation.

Greg Shipperd feels that the Indian team should have been given a punishment for this unnecessary aggression towards Konstas in the Sydney Test.

“I don’t know if he thrives on it. I think it surprised him. I think it was a disgraceful act and should have been punished far more severely than it was. He or the circumstance got under the skin of Jasprit and the team response was super aggressive towards him,” Shipperd said while speaking to Fox Sports.

This incident did not have any effect on Konstas, as he came out with his aggressive approach on Day 2 and scored 23 runs in the first innings. However this was not the only incident that the youngster was involved in.

Konstas was also involved in controversy on Boxing Day in Melbourne when he bumped with star batter Virat Kohli, leading to an exchange of words. However, Kohli was given a demerit point and a fine.

The post ‘Should have been punished…’: Australian coach slams Indian team over Sam Konstas controversy appeared first on Cricket Country.

The teenage batter also bumped into star India cricketer Virat Kohli during the first day of MCG Test and it resulted in a heated altercation between the duo. Following the incident, the crowd would get behind Konstas and he would get loud cheers when he came out to bat in Australia’s second innings as well.

However, Konstas crossed the line when he provoked and got into an altercation with India skipper Jasprit Bumrah during the Sydney Test. Konstas’ actions left Bumrah furious and it also led to the teenager getting criticized from many former cricketers.

Following Australia’s victory in the Sydney Test which also saw them win the Border-Gavaskar series by 3-1, Konstas opened up on the incident with Bumrah and admitted that it was his fault.

“Oh, I didn’t get too fazed. Unfortunately, Uzi got out. He was trying to buy some time a little bit. It was probably my fault, but it happens. It’s cricket. Credit to Bumrah. He got the wicket, but obviously great performance from the team,” Konstas told Triple M.

Konstas also revealed why the Sydney Test was quite special as well as emotional for him. The 19-year-old recalled how his cousin succumed to leukaemia and his grandfather passed away after battling with bowel cancer.

“Obviously it’s a special event, the McGrath Foundation, and hopefully we spread more awareness for cancer, get the funds in, because I remember my cousin passed away with leukemia and my grandpa with bowel cancer. So obviously we hope we spread awareness and get the cure,” Konstas said.

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