The incident happened in the pre-match press conference.
Two-time winners India will kickstart their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign with a clash against Bangladesh in Dubai tomorrow (February 20).
However, the Men in Blue faced a major setback prior to the ICC event with their star bowler Jasprit Bumrah getting ruled out due to a back injury.
Ahead of tomorrow’s clash in the pre-match press conference, Bangaldesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto was quizzed about his response to the talismanic pacer’s unavailability.
However, he chose to give a cold shoulder to the question and ignored it completely.
ALSO READ:
When asked whether Bangladesh felt relieved about Bumrah’s absence from India’s squad ahead of their Champions Trophy opener, Shanto initially responded to a different question.
“A big relief for your team that you don’t have to face Jasprit Bumrah tomorrow,” a reporter said.
The reporter then went onto ask about the adjustments required for Bangladesh players transitioning to 50-over cricket after playing T20s in the BPL. It took a follow-up prompt from the reporter for Shanto to finally share his thoughts on Bumrah’s absence.
“I’m not someone thinking about any individual cricketer. I think they have a lot of quality players, so we are thinking about how we execute our plans,” the Bangladesh captain said.
Undboubtedly, India will miss Bumrah’s services in the marquee tournament but the selectors have named an able replacement in the young Harshit Rana. The Men in Blue have also opted to go with a spin-heavy attack, naming a total of five spinners in the roster.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
