"Reduce India's Champions Trophy-Winning Chances By 30%": Ravi Shastri's 'High Risk' Mega Prediction If...

With the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 just around the corner, India's chances of clinching the title have come under scrutiny, as uncertainty looms over the fitness of pace spearhead, and ICC 2024 Men's Cricketer of the Year, Jasprit Bumrah. Cricket legends Ricky Ponting and Ravi Shastri believe that the potential absence of Bumrah could significantly weaken India's campaign, reducing their chances of winning by nearly 30-35%. Bumrah, who had a phenomenal 2024, was recently crowned the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year and ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards. He was instrumental in India's victorious Men's T20 World Cup campaign and had a stellar season across formats.

However, a back spasm sustained during the Sydney Test against Australia in January has kept him out of action since. While he has been named in India's initial Champions Trophy squad, his absence from the upcoming three-match ODI series against England has raised concerns over his fitness.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, speaking on The ICC Review, strongly advised against rushing Bumrah back into the side, highlighting the risk involved. He stressed that India has a busy international calendar ahead, and risking their premier fast bowler for a single tournament could have long-term consequences.

“I think it's high risk. There's too much big cricket coming up for India,” Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.

“At this stage of his career, I think he's too precious to be just called on for one game out of the blue and asked to deliver. The expectations will be so much. They'll think that he'll come in straight away and set the world on fire. It's never that easy when you come back from injury.”

Shastri also emphasised how