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Former spinner Harbhajan Singh weighed in on the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and identified the moment where "favourites" India would miss his on-field presence the most in the upcoming Champions Trophy.
After completing a 3-0 ODI series whitewash over England, India proved their mettle to bamboozle the top sides despite missing their ace in the hole, Bumrah. A week before the Champions Trophy, the BCCI dropped a bombshell by confirming India will line up without its "national treasure" in the marquee event. Bumrah was in a race against time to get fit in time for the tournament. But his lower back injury proved to be enough to keep him away from the exhilarating contest. Harbhajan analysed India's depth without Bumrah and was convinced that the Men in Blue would fare well with the amount of experience in the pace armoury. "I still believe India is the favourite in the Champions Trophy. Bumrah is a big force, who can win matches. Even without Bumrah, there are a lot of experienced players like Arshdeep, Shami, Kuldeep and Jadeja. India is the favourite, but they have to play like the favourites," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. With Bumrah out of commission, speedsters Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana will have to bear the brunt of delivering the crucial breakthroughs. Even after enduring a huge setback, India's batting unit's return to form has offered them a moment of reprieve. The star-studded batters, who lost their mojo in Australia in Tests, returned to their usual swagger during the three home ODIs against England. India captain Rohit Sharma struck a blistering century in the second ODI. Batting maestro Virat Kohli found his rhythm in the final ODI with a well-paced fifty. Runs effortlessly trickled out of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer's bats. With things falling in place for India before the marquee event, the former spinner sent a message to the Rohit Sharma-led side to learn to play without Bumrah if they want to win the tournament. "I call India a favourite because of its capability. Rohit is back in form, Virat has scored runs, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer keep on scoring runs. So batting and bowling departments are performing well. I think Bumrah's absence will be felt in the last couple of overs when the opposition will need a few runs with just two or three wickets in hand. But I think if you want to win the tournament, you should learn to play without Bumrah," he added. India will begin its Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai. (ANI)
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