India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav are the reasons behind the delay in announcing the 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy, according to reports.
New Zealand, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Australia have already released their squads for the much-anticipated ICC event set to begin from February 19. Pakistan would host the majority of the tournament, while India's games would be played at the Dubai International Stadium.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had set January 12 as the deadline for teams to submit their provisional squads, which can be further modified till February 13.
However, it was earlier reported that the BCCI had sought extension of the date. Latest media reports now claim that the reason behind the delay is the availability of India stars like Bumrah and Kuldeep.
Bumrah was forced to leave the field during the fifth and final Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy owing to a back spasm and there is still uncertainty over his fitness. Some reports even claimed that the 31-year-old would miss the initial stage of the ICC tournament. The speedster is set to undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru with an eye on playing Champions Trophy.
On the other hand, Kuldeep was last seen in action in October. He is currently working on his fitness at the NCA and would likely be fit by month end.� �
Bumrah's fitness record and long-term captaincy
Jasprit Bumrah is the front-runner to replace Rohit Sharma as India's Test captain going forward but the peerless pacer doesn't seem to be a long-term option given his nagging fitness concerns
Since it is a swelling, Indian selectors are hopeful that he still might have some role in Champions Trophy but when one looks at the bigger picture the question arises whether he can be deemed as a permanent skipper in Tests especially now that Rohit's days in whites looks to be as good as over.
If Bumrah is fit and ready to lead the Test side in England, Ajit Agarkar and his four colleagues need to have a strong name as vice-captain of the side so that in case of an unforeseen scenario, the deputy is good enough to take charge. As of now, in Tests, there are only two names in the reckoning -- Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal with the former looking the most suitable in that role.
It is understood that during BCCI brass' review meeting on Saturday along with chairman of selectors Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma, Bumrah's issues with lower back cropped up.
Post review meeting, one can conclude that it will be very unlikely that Rohit will travel to England for the five Tests and the Bumrah will certainly be leading the team in the first Test at Headingley if all goes well.
The man with 443 international scalps across formats in just 204 games, led India at Perth and Sydney in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy and was the player of the series with 32 wickets, highest by an Indian on foreign soil.
But the back spasms in the final Test proved to be his undoing as he couldn't bowl in the second innings. The injury has raised questions that whether Bumrah can remain fit for long periods of time given his workload as pace spearhead in Tests and also required during the time of ICC white ball events.
There is no guarantee that there won't be more breakdowns for Bumrah during the next WTC cycle from June 2025 to June 2027 now that he is on the wrong side of 30s. The subsequent recovery period also increases when one grows older.
Hence, the selectors might be tempted to have a plan B ready which is another equally strong captaincy candidate, who can be groomed as vice-captain.
"For me, it is a very simple thing. You look at the data and find who is a sure-shot pick in Test cricket. Bumrah has played 45 Tests and Pant has 43 Tests. He is 27 now and by the time he was only 23, he had singlehandedly won India, one of its greatest Tests at the Gabba. He is a match-winner, a good sounding board for bowlers and should be the vice-captain," former national selector Devang Gandhi said.
Agreed another former India keeper Deep Dasgupta that Bumrah can't be a long-term solution as Test captain given his bowling workloads.
"It is not just the marquee series (England, Australia) that we are talking about. In between Test matches, there will be ICC events where Bumrah's presence is a must. Like this year, it is Champions Trophy and next year it will be T20 World Cup. He is managing it well by not playing bilaterals but nearer to events, he would need to. Then the bowling workload becomes paramount. Don't forget two months of IPL," Dasgupta explained.
"So even as Bumrah starts as next Test captain, there is a need for a strong vice-captain and yes Pant fits the bill," he said.
Both felt that Jaiswal should not be burdened with vice-captaincy considering that he will spearhead India's batting challenge in coming days and there is still some time before establishment can think of him in a leadership role.�
