Team India have been dealt a major blow ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, with ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the showpiece event due to a lower back injury.

While Bumrah was named in India’s preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy, he failed to make the cut in the final squad which was announced last week.

Amid the setback, Australian legend Ricky Ponting has opined that India should play Arshdeep Singh over Harshit Rana as a replacement for the injured Bumrah in the opening match of the tournament against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.

According to Ponting, Arshdeep's skills, particularly with the new ball and in death overs, closely match those of Bumrah.

"I would go with the left-armer and I'd go with Arshdeep (to replace Bumrah)," Ponting told The ICC Review.

"We know how good he's been in T20 cricket and if you think about the skill set, he probably provides a similar skill set to what Bumrah does with new ball and death overs and that's what India will miss. That's taking nothing away from Harshit Rana because I think he has got a lot of talent and we know what he can do with the new ball, but I don't think his death skills are as good as what Arshdeep Singh's are."

Ponting also emphasized the strategic advantage of having a left-arm pacer in the XI, especially against predominantly right-handed batting line-ups.

"And just that left-arm variation, someone that can bowl left-arm with a new ball and move the new ball. We know how important they are and crucial they can be, especially in big tournaments when you've got a lot of right-handers at the top. I would personally lean that way if I was India," he explained.

Ponting highlighted the positives for India in the batting department as well, with key players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli regaining form in the recent ODI series against England, and Shreyas Iyer's performance bolstering the middle order.

"It's great to see Shreyas Iyer back in the team and playing well in the middle order. He was great," he remarked.

"More importantly for India, (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) were back scoring runs and that's what they need going into big tournaments. Rohit, Virat, your experienced players, you need them to stand up in the big tournaments in the big moments. So, everything for India right now, with the exception of the loss of Bumrah, everything else looks in good order."