“Where is Mukesh Kumar?” - Former Pakistan cricketer analyses India’s bowling combination for 2025 Champions Trophy

Former Pakistan player Basit Ali has questioned Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna's absence in India's squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. The 54-year-old asked whether Mukesh was injured, which prompted India to keep Harshit Rana as a backup for injured pacer Jasprit Bumrah (back spasm) in the three-match ODI series against England. Notably, the duo have been sidelined for the ICC event.

Krishna picked up six wickets in the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney.

Meanwhile, Mukesh bagged 11 wickets during the two unofficial Tests in Australia last year. The 31-year-old also bagged 13 wickets in his six games for Bengal at the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. His last outing for India came in the T20I series in Zimbabwe, where he emerged as the leading wicket-taker alongside Washington Sundar with eight wickets in three outings. His last ODI series came in South Africa in 2023 when he managed just one wicket in three matches. He was also sidelined from Tests after managing a solitary wicket against England last year

Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel:

"Harshit Rana is kept as the backup in the series. Where is the player who played the last Test match – Prasidh Krishna? Where is Mukesh Kumar, is there an injury. This Champions Trophy is not going to be easy for India. They need game-changers in form. If Jaiswal is not in the XI, then (ziadti ho jayegi) it won’t be good." [10:10]

"You are missing one fast bowler" - Basit Ali on India squad for ICC 2025 Champions Trophy

Basit Ali further reckoned that India lacked one specialist pacer in their lineup since Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are coming off the back of injuries. He opined:

"Bumrah and Shami will come on the back of injuries and Bumrah won’t even play in the series against England. I think he might not play the first few games [of the Champions Trophy] as well. Regarding Shami, there is a huge difference between local and international matches. There is pressure. It’s not an easy task." [8:50]

"You are missing one fast bowler. There should be four pacers and Pandya. You’ve kept one extra spinner. No team has that many spinners. You’ve planned like West Indies but there were completely different pitches in America. This is a big factor," he added.

Mohammed Shami will make his comeback for the Men in Blue for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup.

India Champions Trophy 2025 squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja.