Former England Pacer Steve Hernson compared Jasprit Bumrah to Cristiano Ronaldo. Horminson says that if Bumrah does not play in the Champions Trophy, it will be like a Football World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Last month, The Indian Express reported that India’s strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has swollen his back, is likely to remember the group stage of the next month’s Champions Trophy due to swelling on his back.
“He is Jaspreet Bumrah. For me, you can never replace Jasprit Bumrah, ”Horminson said on TalkSport Cricket.
“And I mean, I will also go to the final morning to take him because he is Jaspreet Bumrah.
“He is the best in the world. So it will have to take me from an Indian point of view.
“This is like going to a football World Cup with your best striker, Cristiano Ronaldo. 15 years ago you do not replace Ronaldo until you have to replace it. So I think I think India will do.
“Just put him in the squad and take him to a sedan chair. This is a 14-man squad. It is quite good to get me through group games.
The story continues below this advertisement
“We can get him more than the semi -finals from the semi -finals. If he does not fit, we will replace him to another injury. But he is Jasprit Bumrah. ,
The Champions Trophy, which will have the top eight ODI team in the world, begins on February 19, with India’s game in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Dubai with the prescribed matches.
While India’s last group match, against New Zealand, is on 2 March, it is not clear whether Bumrah will be ready to play. Earlier, India will play Bangladesh on 20 February and Pakistan on 23 February. India will play all their matches in Dubai, as the team refused to travel to Pakistan citing security concerns and the ICC agreed to a hybrid model. The semi -finals are final on March 4 and 5 and on 9 March.
In the recent five -match Test series in Australia, Bumrah took 32 wickets and won the Player of the Series Award. He sat outside the last day of the series in Sydney due to his injury. Australia won the series and took the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The story continues below this advertisement
Bumrah has also seen issues before with his back. He missed about 11 months of cricket – from September 2022 to August 2023 – after a surgery.