Bumrah ruled out from ICC Champions Trophy

He failed to recover from the back injury

In a significant jolt to India's plans for the Champions Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the tournament.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Bumrah is yet to completely recover from the discomfort in his back, an injury he picked up during the Sydney Test in January that also ruled him out of the England white-ball series.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has also been left out of the provisional squad, and Varun Chakravarthy has been named as his replacement.

While Bumrah's latest scans, which he underwent in Bengaluru over the weekend, did not reveal anything severe, he is not entirely ready to return to bowling. There is no confirmation on the timeline of his return. It is likely he will resume running in a couple of weeks and then gradually get back to bowling. His progress will be monitored by the BCCI's medical team in Bengaluru.

This is the second ICC tournament Bumrah will miss because of injury, having sat out the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia owing to a back injury that eventually required surgery.

Bumrah's replacement is Harshit Rana, who made his ODI debut during the ongoing England series. The ICC had set February 11 as the deadline for all participating teams to submit their final squads of 15 for the Champions Trophy. Any subsequent changes to the squad will need approval from the tournament's technical committee. When the BCCI announced the provisional squad for the Champions Trophy and the England series in January, Rana was named as Bumrah's back-up for the England ODIs.

He his ODI debut in the first game of the England series in Nagpur, sharing the new ball with Mohammed Shami.

Last week, Rohit had strongly hinted at Varun's inclusion in the squad, saying that the spinner "clearly had something different about him". Varun has taken 31 wickets at 11.25 since his comeback into India's T20I squad, and on Sunday, he made his ODI debut as well, taking 1 for 54 in Cuttack.

Starc opts out

Australia seamer Mitchell Starc has opted out of the Champions Trophy.

It continues a disruptive build-up for the two-time winners, who had already lost captain Pat Cummins, seamer Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh to injury, plus the sudden ODI retirement of all-rounder Marcus Stoinis.

Starc, 35, will not be sharing a reason for his decision and has asked for privacy.

The left-armer, who has taken 244 wickets in 127 one-day internationals, was the only Australia seamer to play in all seven Tests against India at home and Sri Lanka away between November and February. It leaves Spencer Johnson, Nathan Ellis, Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis, who have played in 37 ODIs between them, as Australia's frontline pace options.

"We understand and respect Mitch's decision," chair selector George Bailey said.

"Mitch is deeply respected for his commitment to international cricket and the priority he places on performing for Australia.

"His well-documented ability to play through pain and adversity, as well as forgoing opportunities in other parts of his career to put his country first should be applauded.

"His loss is of course a blow for the Champions Trophy campaign but does provide an opportunity for someone else to make a mark on the tournament."