ICC Champions Trophy: Big Four Changes in India's and Australia's Squad 

ICC Champions Trophy: Big Four Changes in India's and Australia's Squad 

Just two weeks before the Champions Trophy 2025, which we played in Pakistan, we received some shocking news from India and Australia. While India is only affected by one key player, Australia is facing a serious situation, as the team will miss three key players due to their unavailability in the tournament. 

In shocking news that disappointed all Australian fans worldwide, the team's World Cup-winning captain, Pat Cummins, was ruled out of the upcoming Champions Trophy due to an injury. His partner, Josh Hazlewood, was also ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to the injury.

Just a day after the news of the unavailability of Last Cummins and Josh Hazelwood broke, another news shattered the Australian as the World Cup-winning all-rounder Marcus Stoinis announced his immediate and sudden retirement from ODI cricket. 

Jasprit Bumrah replacement: Varun Chakravarthy 

Team India could suffer a major setback before the upcoming Champions Trophy. It's still unclear whether Jasprit Bumrah, the team premier and one of the best bowlers in modern-day cricket, will be available.

 Jasprit Bumrah who had a long-standing history with the bag issues, performed exceptionally well for India in the recent Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. In the crucial series, being the captain of the team in a few matches and being a senior bowler took an extra workload, which created back issues. While bowling in the Day 4 of the Sydney test he left the team and went for the scans and since then he is not seen in the action.

Varun Chakravarti, who has performed amazingly for India in the recent matches against England, is the front-runner in case a replacement is needed for Jasprit Bumrah. Varun took 14 wickets against England in the 5-match T20 series and could also be the ICC cricket of the month. Following is exceptional performance team India selection committee is keeping an eye on him regarding the Jasprit Bumrah replacement if needed.

Replacement options for Cummins, Hazelwood and Stoinis.

Sean Abbott

32-year-old Sean Abbott could be the replacement for Pat Cummins in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad. Abbot has taken 27 wickets in ODI since 2022 and, batting in the lower order, has scored 345 runs with a strike rate of over 100. Well, on the leadership side, Travis Head or Steve Smith is likely to take over as Australia's captain. 

Spencer Johnson 

Spencer Johnson, Australia's one of the rising pacers in the world, could be the replacement for Josh Hazelwood in the upcoming Champions Trophy. Spencer Johnson has played in the last IPL, where is performed well and could be partnering Mitchell Starc in the coming Champions Trophy.

Cooper Canolly 

Cooper Canolly, a rising Australian All-rounder who is just 22, could make his debut in the upcoming Champions Trophy for Australia as a Marcus Stoinis replacement. Canolly had scored 351 runs in the recently completed BBL 2024-25 season. He also won the Player of the Tournament award for his performance in the BBL.

Also Read:ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad changes, India vs Australia Champions Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah replacement, Pat Cummins injury, Marcus Stoinis retirement, Varun Chakravarthy.