Jasprit Bumrah’s medical reports were submitted to the BCCI and the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar. The reports confirmed that Bumrah had completed his rehabilitation, but the medical team at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru couldn’t guarantee that he would be fully ready for the Champions Trophy. The final decision was left to chief selector Ajit Agarkar, and he chose not to take any risks since Bumrah hadn’t started bowling at full intensity yet.
As a result, India has replaced Bumrah with young pacer Harshit Rana in their final squad for the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19. Spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has also been included in place of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Jasprit Bumrah, who had back surgery in 2022, suffered another stress-related injury while bowling in the final Test against Australia in Sydney. He had to stop after bowling just 10 overs in the first innings. Following this, he was given a full month of rest to recover. As a result, he was unavailable for selection for India’s entire white-ball series at home against England.
A senior BCCI source told PTI, on anonymity, that Bumrah was advised to rest for five weeks before beginning his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under strength and conditioning trainer Rajnikanth and physio Thulasi.
Although Bumrah’s medical reports looked fine, the NCA officials, led by Nitin Patel, were unsure about his match readiness. Since he hadn’t been tested in a real game situation, the final decision was left to chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
NCA head Nitin Patel’s report mentioned that while Bumrah had completed his rehabilitation and his scan results looked fine, it was uncertain if he would be fully fit to bowl by the start of the tournament. Because of this uncertainty, the selectors decided not to take any risks.
Nitin Patel left the final decision to chief selector Ajit Agarkar, and no one wanted to take the risk of including an unfit player in the squad.”If the medical team hasn’t given him full clearance, the selectors can’t afford to take that risk,” an official said.
During a meeting in Ahmedabad, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and captain Rohit Sharma discussed whether to take an unfit Bumrah to the Champions Trophy or go with the less experienced Harshit Rana.
The risk was too high, and it would have been a major embarrassment if Bumrah had suffered another injury during a match. Back in 2022, the NCA, led by Nitin Patel, had already faced criticism for rushing Bumrah back for a series against Australia before the T20 World Cup. Unfortunately, he got injured again and was sidelined for an entire year.
“Back then, Chetan Sharma’s selection committee took the risk, but this time, Ajit Agarkar didn’t want to make the same mistake,” an official said.
Also Read – Is Jasprit Bumrah Ready for the Champions Trophy Comeback?
