BCCI Explains Jasprit Bumrah's Exclusion From Champions Trophy Despite Fitness Clearance
Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has not found a place in the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, despite his medical reports finding no problems. This decision has raised many questions in the minds of the fans that when Bumrah is fit, then why was he excluded from the team?
In fact, medical reports sent to the BCCI and selection committee said that Bumrah has completed his rehabilitation. However, the medical staff at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru did not have any guarantee as to whether he would be fully fit for the tournament.
Agarkar doesn't want any risks
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar decided not to take any risk keeping the situation in mind. He replaced Bumrah with young fast bowler Harshit Rana in the team. Apart from this, spinner Varun Chakravarthy has also been given a chance in place of batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Fitness report clear, but doubts remain
A BCCI official, on condition of anonymity, said that Bumrah was given a five-week break. He then worked on his fitness at the NCA and his scan reports were completely normal. However, NCA chief Nitin Patel did not test him in match conditions.
Because of this, the selection committee doubted Bumrah's 100% fitness. If he had been included in the team and injured again, it could have been a big setback for the Indian team.
This has happened before, this time the mistake was not repeated
A BCCI official said that earlier also the decision to play Bumrah in a hurry was overwhelming.
Bumrah was declared fit in the bilateral series against Australia in 2022 and he was soon taken to the field. But, shortly after, his injury aggravated again and he stayed away from cricket for a whole year. At that time, the selection committee was headed by Chetan Sharma, but this time Agarkar did not repeat that mistake.
Will Bumrah return by IPL 2025?
Now the big question is, will Jasprit Bumrah be fully fit by IPL 2025?
At the moment, the BCCI and NCA are keeping an eye on his fitness. If his recovery goes well and he regains match fitness, he can return to the field soon. However, the BCCI does not want to rush this time and only after being fully convinced, Bumrah will be given a chance to return.