'If you want to win the tournament then...' - Former cricketer gives India a reality check to deal with Jasprit Bumrah's absence in Champions Trophy 2025

India are set to start their journey in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, with their campaign opener against Bangladesh on February 20. The game will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. The 2013 Champions will aim to end their 12-year-long wait for a title win in the Champions Trophy.

However, the men in blue faced a big setback just ahead of the tournament as the star pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. The pacer failed to recover from the back strain that he sustained in the fifth and last Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia.

Meanwhile, former India off-spin great Harbhajan Singh came up with a reality check for Team India to deal with the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the upcoming prestigious cricket quadrennial.

“You should learn to play without Bumrah” – Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh feels that India are still among the favourites to win the Champions Trophy 2025 despite missing their key pacer in the marquee international tournament.

“I still believe India is the favourite in the Champions Trophy. Bumrah is a big force, who can win matches. Even without Bumrah, there are a lot of experienced players like Arshdeep, Shami, Kuldeep and Jadeja. India is the favourite, but they have to play like the favourites. I think if you want to win the tournament, you should learn to play without Bumrah,” said Harbhajan Singh in a video on his YouTube channel.

“I call India a favourite because of its capability. Rohit is back in form, Virat has scored runs, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer keep on scoring runs. So batting and bowling departments are performing well. I think Bumrah's absence will be felt in the last couple of overs when the opposition will need a few runs with just two or three wickets in hand,” he added later. 

Notably, Rohit Sharma’s men are placed in tournament’s Group A with the arch-rivals Pakistan, alongside New Zealand and Pakistan as two other teams.