Jasprit Bumrah slams report of being advised to take bed rest as 'fake news'

Jasprit Bumrah slammed reports of him being asked to take “bed rest” ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy as “fake news”, one that “made him laugh”. Bumrah had suffered a back spasm during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney, and will be checking in at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru in the coming day.

According to one report which carried quotes by an unnamed source, the senior pacer had been advised bed rest and that future course of action would only be decided once the swelling in his back subsided.

“I know fake news is easy to spread but this made me laugh. Sources unreliable,” Bumrah wrote on X in response to a post by a popular cricket influencer quoting details from the aforementioned report.

I know fake news is easy to spread but this made me laugh 😂. Sources unreliable 😂 https://t.co/nEizLdES2h

— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) January 15, 2025

With a month-long rehabilitation ahead of him, Bumrah isn’t expected to recover from the back issue until the first week of March, meaning the 31-year-old will miss the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy in what is a body blow to Team India’s hopes of winning a second ICC event in as many years.

Quick Reads

View All

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

Bumrah was in red-hot form during the recently-concluded tour of Australia, in which he captained India in two Tests and led the visitors to a 295-run victory in the series opener in Perth. He finished with 32 wickets, seven more than the second-ranked Pat Cummins, at an average of 13.06.

The Men in Blue will now be counting on Mohammed Shami to lead the attack in Bumrah’s absence in the limited-overs fixtures against England starting later this month as well as in the Champions Trophy.

Shami, who hasn’t played international cricket since the 2023 ICC World Cup, has been included in the squad for the T20Is against England and is expected to be picked for the 50-over assignments as well, provided his fitness holds up in the 20-over games.