Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra attacked Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar for not picking Mohammed Siraj in India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He said his exclusion was very surprising as he had done nothing wrong.
The Indian national cricket team on Saturday (January 18) named a 15-member squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. While most of the players kept their place, in a major shock, Mohammed Siraj was dropped from the squad.
India pick Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh in CT squad; Mohammed Siraj has fallen
Mohammed Siraj, who has been a regular member of the Indian national cricket team in all three formats, faced scorn as the team management selected only three players in the squad: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh, along with Harshit Rana, who is a reserve.
Mohammed Siraj, who has a decent record in ODIs and also became the No. 1 bowler in 2023, was dropped as Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar mentioned that they had picked Arshdeep Singh over him as they wanted someone to bowl the new ball and death . The captain mentioned that Siraj becomes ineffective when he does not take the new ball.
Harshit Rana also leads in the ODI order ahead of Siraj, which is very surprising – Aakash Chopra
Talking about the omission, Aakash Chopra pointed out that there is no certainty about the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj who did nothing wrong was dropped. He pointed out that the team could have picked one less player and termed the selection of Harshit Rana in the England series over Siraj as surprising. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he said:
“Nobody knows about Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness. Nobody knows about Mohammed Shami’s fitness. He may be fit but nobody knows what his form will be. Arshdeep has been named in the squad and there is no place for Mohammed Siraj.
“He has not done so much wrong that he is not in the team at all. I feel for DSP. Siraj, I feel for you. Siraj could have been picked. He could have been one weaker spinner. Harshit Rana is also ahead in the ODI order ahead of Siraj, which is very surprising.”
There are only three fast bowlers and that’s big news for me – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra further added that he was amazed by the team’s decision to select only three fast bowlers. He pointed out that the management, with only three strikers in the team, decided that in the XI. He explained:
“There are only three fast bowlers, and that’s big news for me. When you pick three pacers, you’re only going to play 2 fast bowlers. If you wanted to play three seamers, you’d pick four in your team,” Chopra said.
“That means you decided to play three spinners. You played your hand before anything even started.”
In the 44 ODIs he played, Siraj took 71 wickets in 44 matches. He was also part of India’s 2023 World Cup campaign, where Rohit Sharma and co managed to reach the final.
