Dubai: Former skipper Ravi Shastri reckons that Jasprit Bumrah’s potential absence could severely weaken the Indian team in the Champions Trophy but advised against rushing the premier fast bowler’s return to the national side. Bumrah suffered back spasms in the fifth Test against Australia at Sydney in January, and did not bowl in the second innings.

He hasn’t bowled for India since then, though he has been included in the initial squad for the prestigious ODI tournament. Bumrah is undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA and is not in the ODI squad for the three-match series against England beginning Thursday. The sports science experts are expected to provide an update on his fitness to the BCCI after which a call would be taken on the Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan and UAE.

The opening game is scheduled in Karachi on February 19 while India will play all their games in Dubai. “Bumrah not fit will reduce India’s chances (of winning the Champions Trophy) by 30%, literally by 30-35%,” Shastri said in the latest edition of ICC Review. “With a fully fit Bumrah playing, you are guaranteed of those death overs. It would’ve been a different ball game altogether,” opined Shastri. Bumrah, who had a sensational last year to claim the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year, played a pivotal role in India winning the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the West Indies and the USA.

He also claimed 32 wickets, the highest from both sides, in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Tests in Australia. Shastri warned against rushing the stalwart back.

“I think it’s high risk. There’s too much big cricket coming up for India. And 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. “ Former South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander says Bumrah has set high standards for pacers across the world but India will need to manage his workload smartly to keep him injury-free.

With a loaded international calendar, Philander feels Bumrah should be utilised tactfully.

I would say, you look at a guy like Jasprit Bumrah, and you want him to be playing all the key series, all the key tournaments. So they have to manage his workload in between tournaments,” said the cricketer-turned-commentator. He suggested that India should avoid the temptation of involving Bumrah in every series. “With IPL coming up, you want a player like him to be available for most games but how do you manage him throughout the IPL season? So I would say you perhaps want to look at playing him in all the main features and give other bowlers an opportunity in less important matches,” said

Philander, who has taken 224 wickets in 64 Tests for South Africa