Champions Trophy 2025: Blow For India as Jasprit Bumrah Could Miss Group Stage Matches Due to Swelling in Back - Report

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India dealt a blow before Champions Trophy 2025 squad announcement as report emerges that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah could miss the group stages of the upcoming ICC tournament due to swelling in the back.

Bumrah had pulled up sore with back issue in the final Test of the bygone Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney, having clocked over a 150 overs across the five Tests Down Under.

The 31-year-old pacer was not picked in the Indian squad for the T20I series against England, starting later this month. And now reports surface that he will be out of action for a little longer, having been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for rehabilitation.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Bumrah is likely to miss the group stage of the Champions Trophy due to back issue. Fortunately there is no fracture and it's only a swelling on his back, but is only expected to be fit in the first week of March. His recovery will be monitored at the NCA in Bengaluru.

"He (Bumrah) will be going to NCA for his rehabilitation. The initial report says he doesn't have a fracture but has swelling on his back. So the NCA will monitor his recovery, and he will be there for three weeks. But even after that, he will have to play a match or two, even if they are practice games organised to check his match fitness," a source told India Express.

If Bumrah is indeed unavalaible for the group stage matches, Team India will miss the services of the quick in the games against Bangladesh on February 20 and arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23. India play their final group stage clash against New Zealand on March 2, but Bumrah could miss that game as well.

Bumrah had earlier missed nearly 11 months of cricket from September 2022 to August 2023 - after undergoing a surgery for a back issue. The 31-year-old made a comeback during a T20I series in Ireland, but has been rested in a few games since his return as Indian team management is cautious about his workload.

The pace spearhead was rested for the fourth Test against England in Ranchi at the start of last year, while he also sat out of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. He, however, played in all five Tests against Australia in the space of a few weeks, which may have resulted in the recent issue.