Indian vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah continues his road to recovery, hitting the gym at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and sharing an update on Thursday. Unfortunately for Team India, the ace pacer has been ruled out of the 2025 Champions Trophy after failing to regain full fitness from the back injury he sustained during the final Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Bumrah had bowled the most overs in the series before his body gave up, forcing him out of action. While chief selector Ajit Agarkar had initially hoped for his return ahead of the ICC event, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ultimately decided otherwise, naming Harshit Rana as his replacement in the squad.
Following a month of complete rest, Bumrah recently resumed his rehabilitation at the NCA. With the Champions Trophy set to begin on February 19 and India’s first match scheduled against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20, selectors opted for caution rather than risk an underprepared Bumrah breaking down during the tournament.
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A PTI report later revealed that while Bumrah’s scan results appeared positive, the NCA medical team refrained from giving him the green light. Instead, the decision was left to Agarkar, who took a lesson from past mistakes and chose not to rush the pacer’s return.
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“Bumrah was advised five weeks of off-loading before beginning rehab under strength & conditioning coach Rajnikanth and physio Thulasi. The report from NCA head Nitin Patel stated that although his rehabilitation had gone well, there was no certainty about his bowling fitness in time for the tournament,” a top BCCI source told PTI.
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Given the high stakes, Agarkar avoided the gamble of including an unfit player, recalling how a similar decision backfired in 2022 when Bumrah was rushed for a series against Australia before the T20 World Cup, only to break down and miss an entire year. That blunder happened under Chetan Sharma’s selection panel, and Agarkar wasn’t willing to repeat history.
With the Champions Trophy ruled out, Mumbai Indians will now hope Bumrah recovers in time for IPL 2025, set to begin in March.
