'Bumrah's Absence A Massive Blow': Former India Cricketer Worried About India For ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Aakash Chopra is quite worried that no seamer could be as impactful as Jasprit Bumrah for India in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has voiced concern about Jasprit Bumrah’s reported unavailability for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The cricketer-turned-commentator has claimed that Bumrah’s absence could be a major setback for India. There is currently a lot of chatter about the Indian bowling star’s injury on the internet. Aakash spoke about the speculations surrounding Bumrah fitness on his YouTube channel. “It is being said that Jasprit Bumrah won’t be available for the first half of the Champions Trophy, which means he won’t be available for the matches against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan, and that is a massive blow," he said.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be played in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19. With just a month remaining for the premier tournament, several reports have emerged claiming Bumrah will likely be unavailable for India’s Group A matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand. Aakash seemed to be quite worried about the rumoured developments and noted that no seamer could be as impactful as Bumrah for India. “You will have to look at it from multiple perspectives. Firstly, no one can replace Jasprit Bumrah. You will need two bowlers to replace one bowler, which is not possible," he said.
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In the YouTube video, Aakash Chopra also observed that the ball would likely swing a lot in Dubai during the tournament. “Secondly, when you talk about the February month in Dubai, the ball is going to swing," he said. “When you have to play a different template of cricket, you need firepower in fast bowling, and if you remove the biggest Bhramastra from that firepower, the quiver will seem empty, and he will be missed a lot," the former India batter added.
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Jasprit Bumrah made headlines during the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, leading the bowling charts throughout the five-match Test battle. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, he captained India to a dominant victory in Perth. He finished the bilateral tour with 31 scalps, emerging as the Player of the Series. While Bumrah’s brilliance constantly troubled Australia’s batting, he couldn’t stop his team from losing the five-match series 1-3. It was later revealed that the 31-year-old bowling star suffered a back spasm in the final Test in Sydney.
As for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, India will begin the campaign against Bangladesh on February 20. The match will take place at the Dubai International Stadium.
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