Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah faced a major setback as he was ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy due to a recurring back injury.
The injury, which he had sustained during the Sydney Test in January, also forced him to miss the white-ball series against England. Bumrah, who had undergone a recent scan in Bengaluru, has not fully recovered from the discomfort in his back.
Although the scan did not reveal any new issues, it was confirmed that Bumrah was still not ready to resume bowling. The progress of his recovery will be closely monitored by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
There has been no official confirmation regarding the timeline of his return to bowling.
It was expected that Bumrah would likely resume running in the coming weeks before gradually returning to full bowling action.
This injury marks the second consecutive ICC tournament that Bumrah will miss.
He was also forced to sit out the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia due to a back injury, which eventually led to surgery.
Harshit Rana had been called up to replace the injured, Jasprit Bumrah in India’s squad.
Along with Rana, another change had been made to the Indian squad, with Varun Chakravarthy being included in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The deadline for the final submission of the 15-player squads for the Champions Trophy was set by the ICC for February 11.
