Wed Feb 12 05:14:36 UTC 2025: ## Bumrah Ruled Out of ICC Champions Trophy; Rana and Chakravarthy Named as Replacements

**Dubai, UAE** – India’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy due to a recurring lower back injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Tuesday. The news ends weeks of speculation regarding his participation in the tournament, which begins February 19th in Pakistan.

Harshit Rana has been named as Bumrah’s replacement. The selection committee also added mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy to the squad, replacing batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is now listed among the non-travelling reserves. Jaiswal’s omission is attributed to the already established opening partnership of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Bumrah, who underwent back surgery in 2022, suffered a stress-related injury during the recent Test series against Australia. Despite completing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), medical assessments deemed him unfit for the tournament’s intensity. The BCCI cited concerns about risking further injury as the reason for his exclusion.

The decision followed discussions between chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and captain Rohit Sharma. The team acknowledged the high stakes of the Champions Trophy and the potential embarrassment of Bumrah suffering another injury during the competition.

Interestingly, both Rana and Chakravarthy are players favored by coach Gambhir and currently play for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. The team will play all its matches in Dubai under a hybrid model agreement. India opens its campaign against Bangladesh on February 20th. The full squad is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, and Varun Chakaravarthy.

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