Arshdeep warned of ruthless Champions Trophy trial, rivals to put him to the test

Team India was dealt a major blow this week when Jasprit Bumrah was forced to withdraw from the Champions Trophy due to a back injury. In his place, Harshit Rana, who recently made his ODI debut against England, was selected to join the 15-member squad for the prestigious tournament. With Rana's inclusion, India's pace bowling lineup now appears to be relatively inexperienced, with Arshdeep Singh having only played nine ODIs so far. While Mohammed Shami brings valuable experience as a seasoned pacer, his recent return to the team after a long absence due to injuries adds another layer of uncertainty to India's bowling attack.

Former England cricketer-turned-commentator David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd spoke about Bumrah's absence, while also casting doubts over Arshdeep's reliability in the fifty-over format.

“You are going to miss him (Bumrah),” Lloyd told TalkSPORT.

“You can't get away from the fact that the best bowler in the world isn't playing, then you've got a problem.”

Bumrah played a crucial role in India's T20 World Cup victory last year, picking 15 wickets in 8 matches at an incredible economy rate of 4.17. He suffered back spasms during the fifth and final Test of the series against Australia in Sydney last month, which forced him out of the all-important second innings of the game, as India faced a 3-1 series defeat.

Lloyd on Arshdeep

The former England cricketer insisted that Arshdeep might find it challenging to lead the attack in ODIs, stating that it isn't similar to the T20 format, where Arshdeep is a regular.

"If you are the opposition, test him out, really get into him.

"This is not T20, this not a little party, you've got to come back and come back again, and that is something he won't be used to.

“If you are the opposition, you try and play on that, let's see what he's got,” said Lloyd.

Arshdeep has 14 wickets in nine ODIs but did perform impressively in India's final match of the series against England last week. He registered figures of 2/33 in five overs, removing both English openers – Ben Duckett and Phil Salt – to provide India with an opening as they successfully defended a 357-run target in Ahmedabad.

The Champions Trophy begins February 19, with India opening their campaign next week against Bangladesh in Dubai.

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