The selectors of the Indian cricket team will have a tough decision on their hands as they have to submit the final squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 on Tuesday (Feb 11). With India sweating on the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah, the selectors panel led by Ajit Agarkar will have to take a call on the star bowler’s fitness. In case Bumrah is not available, the Indian side is likely to pick Varun Chakravarthy in the final 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.

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Bumrah or Chakravarthy?

The ICC’s deadline to submit the final 15-member squad is on Tuesday, meaning the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its selectors will no longer be allowed to make changes (unless an injury or unavoidable situation arises). According to reports, Bumrah’s selection in the final squad is a tight call after he had scans on a back injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) last week. The star bowler has not played since the Sydney Test in January when he left the field on the final day.

On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy has taken the spotlight with Player of the Series performances in the England T20I series. His game has caught the eye of the selectors, which saw him get drafted into the ODI side. He made his debut for India in the ODIs in Cuttack and ended with figures of 54/1.

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He comes in handy with the bat as well and was one of the expensive players in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp, having been retained for $1.6mn (INR 140 million).

India’s current Champions Trophy 2025 squad

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Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.