Bumrah Set To Be Part Of India’s Champions Trophy Squad; No Place For Karun Nair & Sanju Samson: Report – News18

Last Updated:January 18, 2025, 07:40 IST

The BCCI selection committee will meet in Mumbai on Saturday to pick India’s squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England as well as the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Star Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is all set to be included in India’s 15-member ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad on Saturday, January 18. According to a report in India Today, Bumrah, who is dealing with a back issue, will be part of India’s squad, which the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, will reveal on Saturday in a press conference at Wankhede Stadium after the selection committee’s meeting. However, Bumrah’s participation in the tournament is subject to fitness.

Bumrah is dealing with a back injury these days, because of which he also didn’t bowl in the second innings of the fifth India-Australia Test played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 6, 2025.

The 31-year-old fast bowler from Ahmedabad, who last played a 50-over match for India on November 19, 2023, during the ODI World Cup final against Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium, is likely to be picked for the three-match ODI series against England as well.

As per the available information, “selectors want Bumrah to play at least one competitive match before the Champions Trophy to assess his fitness and make a final decision.”

No place for Karun Nair

Karun Nair, who has been in red-hot form these days, is unlikely to be part of India’s ODI squad for the upcoming two series/tournaments. The 33-year-old right-handed batter has amassed a total of 752 runs in eight matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 for Vidarbha. Nair’s batting average in the tournament is 752.00, and he has slammed five centuries in just seven innings.

But despite his brilliant show with the bat, “selectors feel that it would be unwise to recall Nair, who last represented India in 2017, just before a major tournament.”

Nair, who has scored a triple century for India in Test cricket, last played a 50-over match for India on June 13, 2016, against Zimbabwe in Harare.

Samson ignored

Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson is part of India’s T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against England, but the 30-year-old is unlikely to be considered for the ODI series and Champions Trophy. If reports are to be believed, then his decision to skip the Vijay Hazare Trophy hasn’t gone down well with BCCI officials and selectors.