India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is likely to remain part of the Champions Trophy squad as he is all set to begin his rehabilitation process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru after having undergone an assessment by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team. Bumrah had injured his back early last month during the final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Sydney.
According to a report in Times of India, the reports of Bumrah's scans were discussed internally, and the 31-year-old will now begin his rehabilitation in the next day or two, which will comprise “some gym work, even light bowling.”
BCCI to take 'Hardik Pandya' route for Bumrah
The selectors are running out of time to take the final call on Bumrah's fate for the Champions Trophy, with ICC having set the deadline to lock in the final squad for each team for February 12. However, the report added that BCCI are unfazed over the lack of time left as they are eager to play the waiting game, just like they did when all-rounder Hardik Pandya had injured his ankle during the 2023 ODI World Cup.
"Even if there is a 1% chance, the BCCI is likely to wait. They did the same with Hardik Pandya as they waited for close to two weeks before getting Prasidh Krishna as a replacement. Yes those two incidents happened during the campaign but approach with Bumrah could well be no different. This is just the deadline to submit the squad and they could approach the Event Technical Committee at a later stage to seek a replacement if he fails to regain fitness," a source close to developments told the newspaper.
{{/usCountry}}"Even if there is a 1% chance, the BCCI is likely to wait. They did the same with Hardik Pandya as they waited for close to two weeks before getting Prasidh Krishna as a replacement. Yes those two incidents happened during the campaign but approach with Bumrah could well be no different. This is just the deadline to submit the squad and they could approach the Event Technical Committee at a later stage to seek a replacement if he fails to regain fitness," a source close to developments told the newspaper.
{{/usCountry}}BCCI has yet to make an official update on Bumrah's injury, but India are certainly keeping their options ready for the Champions Trophy. Not only did the ongoing England ODI series witness the debut of fast bowler Harshit Rana, they also added Varun Chakravarthy to the squad and handed him a debut cap.