4 players who can replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in India's Champions Trophy team, Feat: Mohammed Siraj
The Indian Cricket Team successfully defeated England by a strong margin of 4-1 in the five-match T20 International series at home and now both teams are gearing up to take on each other in a three-match One Day International Series. This series is going to act as a preparatory ground for both teams ahead of Champions Trophy 2025.
However, things are not looking good for the Rohit Sharma-led outfit as they have been handed a huge blow ahead of the ODI series versus the Three Lions as ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the entire series since he has failed to recover on time from the injury he suffered versus Australia in the Sydney Test-Match.
In his place, Varun Chakaravarthy has been drafted into the squad for the three-match series. Following the conclusion of this ODI series, the Men in Blue will go to Dubai in order to take part in the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy from the 20th of February. In such a situation, Bumrah's unavailability due to injury is a huge blow to the Rohit Sharma-led outfit's ambition of sweeping the ODI series versus England and lift the Champions Trophy for the first time since 2013.
If the 31-year-old pacer fails to recover on time, then he will surely miss the Champions Trophy and the question which arises here is that if the Mumbai Indians pacer is set to miss the Marquee ICC event of this year, then who will take his place in the team? Let us tell you that four players can be considered for the role of replacing him. We will be taking a look at those four players in this article.
4. Avesh Khan
28-year-old Avesh Khan can be considered as an option to take the place of Jasprit Bumrah in the Champions Trophy. He is a tall fast bowler who knows how to bowl with good pace and he is known to hit the deck hard with his short-pitched deliveries. Avesh also took part in all of the three ODI matches versus South Africa in 2023 and his pace and bounce can create a lot of issues for opposition batters in Champions Trophy 2025.
He has nine wickets to his name in eight One-Day Internationals and he ended that series as the 2nd highest wicket-taker behind Arshdeep Singh with six scalps to his name.
All in all, the skillset of the 28-year-old and his experience of bowling well versus top International players in the IPL make him a strong contender to replace Jasprit Bumrah in Team India's Champions Trophy squad.
3. Khaleel Ahmed
Left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed is another player who might be considered to take the place of Jasprit Bumrah in Team India's Champions Trophy squad. Yes, he might not be a popular choice but certainly, he can do the job if given the chance.
He was a part of the Indian Team as a reserve player for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. He was included in the team after performing in a brilliant manner with the ball for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2024.
He helped them get early wickets in the powerplay overs and was also impressive in the death overs. The 27-year-old has always been considered by the Indian management for the limited-overs formats and he has taken part in 18 T20 International games and 11 One-Day International contests for the Men in Blue.
Talking about his stats in both formats, he has dismissed 16 batters in the shortest format of the game at an average of 35.13 and an okayish economy rate of 8.52. In terms of ODI's, the 27-year-old has 15 scalps to his name in 11 encounters at a decent average of 31 and a good economy rate of 5.81.
Khaleel is one of the few left-arm seamers to have been developed by the Indian coaching team to become the next big thing and if the 27-year-old finds a way to become a little more consistent and improve his economy rate, then there's no stopping him from replacing Bumrah in Champions Trophy.
2. Mukesh Kumar
Right-arm fast bowler Mukesh Kumar, hailing from the Gopalganj town of Bihar, can be considered a genuine contender to fill the void left by Bumrah if he misses the Champions Trophy.
He has the ability to do wonders in the whiteball format. He knows how to catch the batters off guard with his swinging deliveries in the powerplay overs, he knows to outsmart the opposition batters with the old ball, and his accurate yorkers and slower deliveries have the potential to make the best batters stay quiet.
He played a key role in helping Team India win the home T20 International series versus Australia in 2023 and his impressive death bowling performance was appreciated by the duo of Marcus Stoinis and Tim David.
He has experience of playing in 50 first-class matches and apart from this, he has also participated in six One-Day International games. This bowler is slowly and gradually increasing his experience.
The 31-year-old has natural talent by his side and he is well known for executing inch-perfect slower yorker deliveries in the death overs. We have seen him play for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL. Taking all of these things into consideration, this player can genuinely be considered a strong contender to replace Bumrah
1. Mohammed Siraj
DSP Siraj aka Mohammed Siraj from Hyderabad is rightfully considered the the main contender to replace Jasprit Bumrah in the Champions Trophy if he misses the tournament due to injury.
Siraj played a key role in helping Team India win the Asia Cup in 2023 and reach the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup but when he was omitted from the Champions Trophy squad, that decision shocked all the cricket fans and experts across the world.
The 30-year-old is one of Team India's most dependable pacers across all formats and when we talk about his numbers in ODI Cricket, we get to know that he had 71 scalps to his name in 44 matches. These stats are not normal and it just go on to show how good the 30-year-old is in One Day Cricket.
If Bumrah misses the mega ICC event of this year due to injury, then Siraj should definitely be called up to fill his big shoes in the team. The world is surely not ready for the comeback of a wounded Lion, Mohammed Siraj ;).
Also Read: Key Player Battles to Watch Out For in IND vs ENG 1st ODI Ft. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
