Harbhajan Singh has named Team India his favorite to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and also discussed how pace Jasprit Bumrah’s absence might hinder the Men in Blue’s chances in the tournament.
The 8-team tournament begins on February 19 and will be played in Pakistan, with the Indian team playing its matches in Dubai under a hybrid model. India has been placed in Group A with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh.
Ahead of the tournament, BCCI confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah would miss the Champions Trophy as they don’t want to risk the pacer, who suffered from a back injury during Sydney Test on the tour of Australia.
Though he doesn’t have any complications after extensive rehab and scans, Bumrah has failed to regain match fitness for the tournament. This means Mohammad Shami will lead the Indian pace attack with Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Hardik Pandya for company.
"I still believe India is the favorite 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 favorite, but they have to play like the favorites," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
During the recent home ODI series against England, the batters delivered outstanding performances. Captain Rohit Sharma produced a century in the second ODI, and Virat Kohli regained his rhythm with a fifty in the last match. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer both contributed with consistent runs.
Harbhajan Singh also advised India to learn to play without Bumrah if they consistently want to win tournaments.
"I call India a favorite 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. But I think if you want to win the tournament, you should learn to play without Bumrah," he added.
India will open their CT 2025 on February 20 against Bangladesh and will then clash with Pakistan on February 23. Their last group match will be against New Zealand on March 2. All matches will be played in Dubai.
