“Bumrah is a big force, who can win matches..” Harbhajan Singh reveals whether India can win the ICC Champions Trophy in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy, and there are discussions on whether India can win in his absence.

“Bumrah is a big force, who can win matches..” Harbhajan Singh reveals whether India can win the ICC Champions Trophy in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah, Harbhajan Singh (via X)

The Indian Cricket Team is set to kickstart their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign with a match against Bangladesh on February 20. However, they received a setback ahead of the start of the tournament in the form of their biggest matchwinner, Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament due to a lower back injury, which he failed to recover from.

Bumrah suffered the injury during the fifth Test match against Australia and did not bowl in the second innings. He was included in the initial squad for the Champions Trophy, but his availability was subject to his fitness. The Indian pacer is currently the best bowler across formats and was responsible for India winning the trophy in the T20 World Cup 2024. Many are of the opinion that India is severely weakened by the injury to Bumrah.

YouTube video

However, former India cricketer and current commentator Harbhajan Singh felt that India are still the favourites and have the ability to win the ICC Champions Trophy in the absence of Bumrah. He feels that if India needs to win an ICC tournament, then they have to learn to play in the absence of Bumrah and win matches.

I still believe India is the favorite in the Champions Trophy. Bumrah is a big force, who can win matches. Even without Bumrah, there are a lot of experienced players like Arshdeep, Shami, Kuldeep and Jadeja. India is the favorite, but they have to play like the favorites. I think if you want to win the tournament, you should learn to play without Bumrah.

Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.

Sanjay Manjrekar feels that India is still ready to be victorious in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah

Former India cricketer and current commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that the Indian Cricket Team were well aware of the unavailability of Bumrah for the Champions Trophy beforehand and were ready to play in the tournament in the absence of their strike bowler. He felt that India still have good bowlers who can give them the edge in Dubai.

Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah (Via X)

Bumrah’s absence is not an event. It’s not like suddenly India have realized that they will be without Bumrah. Somewhere, they were all aware that it’s going to be touch and go and India made preparations accordingly. Harshit Rana’s emergence and Arshdeep, who had a great T20 series; Mohammed Shami slowly getting fit [are good signs for India].

Sanjay Manjrekar said in a discussion in ESPNCricinfo.

India will need the likes of Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh to step up in the absence of Bumrah. Shami was in breathtaking form in the ODI World Cup 2023 and will need to repeat his performance in Dubai. Arshdeep has been in great form of late, and Rana has been trusted by Gautam Gambhir in the recent outings.

However, the team will be heavily dependent on their three spinners in the form of Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav to deliver the goods for them in the tournament. It remains to be seen if India can go on to win the Champions Trophy without Bumrah.