Former skipper Ravi Shastri on Tuesday termed the absence of speedster Jasprit Bumrah an enormous dent for India to try and win CT.
The fast bowler Bumrah rested himself for the second innings of the fifth Test which was played on January fifth in Sydney due to spasms that came from his back.
In the much-hyped ODI event where it was he, who was chosen first but since then bowling for India was a no-thing for Bumrah.
Instead, with the series consisting of three matches to begin on Thursday, Jan 6, 2025 for England, it kept Bumrah out of the ODI team that went to the country. He was left there at NCA recovering.
It would wait for words from sports science experts about his fitness levels, only then it could think of dispatching a side to the Champions Trophy being staged in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
India is going to play all of their group league matches of the Champions Trophy there. The opener is going to take place on 19 February in Karachi.
“Bumrah not fit will cut down India’s chances by 30%, literally by 30-35%”
observed Shastri in the latest edition of ICC Review.
With completely fit Bumrah playing, you are on a surety to get through that death over. It would have been another thing altogether says Shastri
You will certainly bank at those death overs with Bumrah going just alright. All will be over. That game, feels Shastri.
Under his bowling team in India, it was given USA and West Indies the task to play for the T20 World Cup 2024.
There was also another opportunity that presented itself to enjoy a few seasons all at one go as the season concluded right at the top since he claimed a trophy under the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year tag.
He also received the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy since he has been the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year.
And with five Border-Gavaskar Test matches having been played across Australia, 32 wickets had fallen into his lap also.
“That is very high risk. Too much big cricket lined up for India, and I feel at this stage of his career, he’s too precious to be called out of the blue for just one game and asked to deliver.”.
“The expectations will be so much. They will think that he will come straight away and set the world on fire. It is never like that when you come back from injury,” Shastri added.
Ravi Shastri on Mohammed Shami fitness-
“It will be interesting to see if India play him out in all three or they give him the first one and the third one, then ease him into the Champions Trophy.”.
“But he’ll be watched very closely because 10 overs is totally different to four overs, and then you’re going to see how he pulls up in the field as well having bowled those 10 overs.”
