Shastri warns India’s odds drop to 30-35 per cent without Bumrah in CT 2025

With the ICC Menrsquos Champions Trophy 2025 just around the corner Indiarsquos chances of clinching the title have come under scrutiny as uncertainty looms over the fitness of pace spearhead and ICC 2024 Mens Cricketer of the Year Jasprit BumrahCricket legends Ricky Ponting and Ravi Shastri believe that the potential absence of Bumrah could significantly weaken Indiarsquos campaign reducing their chances of winning by nearly 303537Bumrah who had a phenomenal 2024 was recently crowned the ICC Menrsquos Cricketer of the Year and ICC Menrsquos Test Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards He was instrumental in Indiarsquos victorious Menrsquos T20 World Cup campaign and had a stellar season across formatsHowever a back spasm sustained during the Sydney Test against Australia in January has kept him out of action since While he has been named in Indiarsquos initial Champions Trophy squad his absence from the upcoming threematch ODI series against England has raised concerns over his fitnessFormer India head coach Ravi Shastri speaking on The ICC Review strongly advised against rushing Bumrah back into the side highlighting the risk involved He stressed that India has a busy international calendar ahead and risking their premier fast bowler for a single tournament could have longterm consequencesldquoI think its high risk Theres too much big cricket coming up for Indiardquo Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC ReviewldquoAt this stage of his career I think hes too precious to be just called on for one game out of the blue and asked to deliver The expectations will be so much Theyll think that hell come in straight away and set the world on fire Itrsquos never that easy when you come back from injuryrdquoShastri also emphasised how vital Bumrah is to Indiarsquos Champions Trophy aspirations adding that his absence would be a massive blow to the teamrsquos plansldquoBumrah not fit will reduce Indias chances of winning the Champions Trophy by 3037 literally by 303537rdquo he said ldquoWith a fully fit Bumrah playing you are guaranteed those death overs It wouldrsquove been a different ball game altogetherrdquoFormer Australia captain Ricky Ponting echoed Shastrirsquos concerns noting that Bumrahrsquos workload in the recent BorderGavaskar Trophy may have contributed to his injury Ponting believes that the spotlight now shifts to Mohammed Shami who has returned from his own injury layoff and featured in Indiarsquos recent limitedovers series against EnglandldquoMy biggest concern about India when they came for Australia in the Test series was Bumrah not having Shami there as a backup and him having to burden most of the loadrdquo Ponting said on The ICC ReviewldquoAnd thats probably what happened and might even have something to do with why he Bumrah got hurt He probably ended up having to bowl a bit more in that series with Shami not being thererdquoHowever Ponting believes Shamirsquos return is a positive sign for India The veteran pacer has shown glimpses of his best including an impressive spell of 325 in the fourth T20I against England His performance in the upcoming ODI series will be closely monitored to determine whether he can handle the demands of a full 10over spell in 50over cricketShastri also weighed in on Shamirsquos comeback emphasising that his fitness and endurance will be tested in the upcoming ODIs against EnglandldquoIt will be interesting to see if India play him out in all three or they give him the first one and the third one and then ease him into the Champions Trophyrdquo Shastri saidldquoBut hell be watched very closely because 10 overs is totally different to four overs and then youre going to see how he pulls up in the field as well having bowled those 10 oversrdquoShami last played an ODI for India in the 2023 ICC Menrsquos Cricket World Cup final against Australia where he finished as the tournamentrsquos highest wickettaker His ability to stay fit and bowl full spells in the Champions Trophy will be crucial for India especially if Bumrah is not availableIndia will begin their ICC Menrsquos Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai With conditions likely to favor fast bowlers early on a fully fit pace attack featuring Bumrah and Shami would be a major advantage for IndiaWith agency inputs