Bumrah out of Champions Trophy with back injury

India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy after failing to recover from a lower back injury in time for the tournament.

Bumrah, the highest wicket-taker in this summer's Test series with Australia which India lost 3-1, had back spasms during the final Test in Sydney last month, which also ruled him out of the current white-ball series with England.

His absence will be a major blow to India, with the 31-year-old widely considered one of the best all-format fast bowlers in the sport.

"Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy due to a lower back injury. The men's selection committee has named Harshit Rana as Bumrah's replacement," the Indian cricket board (BCCI) announced on Tuesday.

Rana has played two ODIs, both of which came against England this month, picking up four wickets.

The BCCI added that spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who took 14 wickets in a five-match T20 series against England in January and February, would replace batter Yashasvi Jaiswal.

India are in Group A in the Champions Trophy and play Bangladesh, defending champions and rivals Pakistan and New Zealand.

They will play all their matches in Dubai for the Pakistan-hosted event after the ICC was forced to adopt a 'hybrid' solution to accommodate the political wrangling between the two nations.

While India will be based at the neutral venue for the Champions Trophy, their opponents will have the extra logistical hurdle of flying in and out for their matches.

A similar schedule applied at last year's men's T20 World Cup where India played their warm-up matches and first three group stage fixtures at the New York venue while rivals flew in and out.

The hybrid model will also affect the 2025 women’s ODI World Cup – hosted by India – and the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026, although the impact on that tournament is lessened as it is due to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

India and Pakistan have not faced each other in cricket outside of men's ICC events since 2013, while India have not played in Pakistan since 2008.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.

2025 ICC Men's Champions Trophy

Australia's Group B fixtures

February 22: Australia v England, Lahore (8pm AEDT)

February 25: Australia v South Africa, Rawalpindi (8pm AEDT)

February 28: Afghanistan v Australia, Lahore (8pm AEDT)

March 4: Semi-final 1, Dubai (8pm AEDT)

March 5: Semi-final 2, Lahore (8pm AEDT)

March 9: Final, Lahore or Dubai (8pm AEDT)

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