ICC Champions Trophy: India gamble with Jasprit Bumrah in squad

The importance of being Jasprit Bumrah in Indian cricket came to the fore once again when the injured pace warhead was named in the 15-member squad for the ICC Champions Trophy – to be played in the UAE and Pakistan next month.

The BCCI had pushed back naming the squad by nearly a week primarily to take a final call on Bumrah’s availability but had to eventually leave it open-ended on Saturday.

‘’We are just hoping Bumrah will be fit. We will have a chat if he is not fit,’’ said Ajit Agarkar, chairman of selectors, as India stuck to three seamers for the marquee ODI tournament and have named no back-ups for Bumrah.

Harshit Rana, who had been a part of the squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has been named as Bumrah’s cover for the ODI series against England starting in India on February 6 as the latter will not be available for the first two ODIs.

No prizes for guessing that the decision-makers are emboldened at the comeback of senior pro Mohammed Shami, who last played international cricket in the 2023 World Cup final against Australia.

The selectors have preferred the young left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh as the third new ball bowler, possibly with the variety he offers in mind, while the more experienced Mohammed Siraj has been dropped.  

Is there a potential risk factor in both their leading pacers, Bumrah and Shami were actually coming out of injuries? Agarkar brushed it aside: ‘’I don’t think his (Shami’s) fitness was anything to do with white ball cricket anyway. We were trying to get him to Australia. Unfortunately, his knee didn’t allow him to play four-day or five-day cricket.

‘’With regards to white ball, I think he has played most of the Syed Mushtaq Ali games and some of the Vijay Hazare games. With uncertainty around Jassi as well, if he (Shami) is fit and playing regularly, the quality and the experience that he brings is invaluable,’’ he felt.

The rest of the squad, pardon the cliché, is very much the old wine in new bottle with the team management sticking to the core which had a bullish run in the last 50-overs World Cup at home before the final heartbreak.

There was no room as expected for Karun Nair, the captain of Vidarbha who had been riding a superhuman form in this format in the Vijay Hazare Trophy – begging a question as to when will the extraordinary performers in the domestic circuit will be rewarded.

It was a matter of time before Yashasvi Jaiswal, one of the few batters who acquitted themselves creditably in Australia, would make the grade for the 50-overs format. Given the duration of the tournament is a short one and India will be required to play a maximum of five games if they make the final (in a single venue of Dubai), they have named only one wicketkeeper in Rishabh Pant with KL Rahul at hand to step in if necessary.

Champions Trophy Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Raahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (subject to fitness), Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk) and Ravindra Jadeja. 

England ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Raahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (subject to fitness) Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep SIngh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana.