India faced a significant setback on Tuesday as they prepared for the Champions Trophy, with pace leader Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out due to an inability to recover from his back injury. Following this announcement, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed the team's "desperation" to have Bumrah available for the tournament, which ultimately resulted in disappointment.

Bumrah sustained a back injury during the Sydney Test last month. He was anticipated to return for the final ODI against England after being advised to manage his workload and rest following the tour of Australia. However, he was quietly withdrawn from the series last week, leading the BCCI to make the decisive choice to exclude him from the Champions Trophy squad just before the deadline for finalizing the team.

In an interview with Star Sports on Wednesday, following India's clean sweep against England, Gambhir acknowledged the absence of Bumrah during the Champions Trophy.

"Naturally, we were eager to have him with us. We recognize his capabilities as a world-class player. However, certain circumstances are beyond our control. This situation presents an opportunity for younger players, such as Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, to step up and contribute to the team. These moments can be pivotal. Harshit has performed exceptionally well throughout the series, taking crucial wickets, and we are all aware of Arshdeep's potential. While Bumrah's absence will be felt, having someone of Mohammad Shami's experience returning is certainly advantageous," he stated.

Rana replaces Bumrah

Rana, having taken six wickets in three matches against England, has been appointed as Bumrah's substitute for the Champions Trophy. Additionally, India has included the enigmatic spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who made his ODI debut in the second match of the series, in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was initially selected in the provisional squad. Jaiswal has now been designated as a non-travelling reserve, along with Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube.

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