Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that India seamer Arshdeep Singh is the best choice to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI for the upcoming Champions Trophy. While India named Harshit Rana as Bumrah’s replacement in the squad, Ponting feels Arshdeep is better suited to lead the attack in Bumrah’s absence.
Bumrah’s injury left a significant gap in India’s bowling unit, raising concerns about who will step up to anchor the attack in a tournament where India will be aiming to end their long wait for an ODI silverware. Despite initially being named in India’s 15-man squad, Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury sustained during the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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India handed Harshit Rana his ODI debut in the recent series against England, but he struggled with the new ball. Although he improved in his second spells, Ponting, speaking on The ICC Review, expressed concerns over Harshit’s lack of control in the early overs and backed Arshdeep as a better fit for the role.
“I would go with the left-armer and I’d go with Arshdeep (to replace Bumrah)…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,” Ponting said.
“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…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 added.
Harshit has shown promise across all formats, becoming one of the few bowlers to claim three-wicket hauls on his Test, ODI, and T20I debuts. He picked up 3/48 on his Test debut against Australia in Perth, followed by 3/33 against England in his first T20I in Pune, and 3/53 in his maiden ODI against England in Nagpur. However, his tendency to concede runs in the powerplay could be a concern for India against stronger opposition in the Champions Trophy.
Arshdeep, on the other hand, impressed with a tidy 2/33 in his only ODI against England in Ahmedabad. Though he has limited ODI experience, his T20I performances have cemented him as a reliable white-ball bowler. His ability to swing the new ball and execute yorkers at the death makes him a strong contender for the role in Bumrah’s absence.
With experienced pacers like Mohammed Shami—India’s standout bowler in the 2023 ODI World Cup—still finding full rhythm post-injury and Hardik Pandya expected to bowl in the middle overs, the final call on Bumrah’s replacement will rest with head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma.
