India’s fiery paceman Mohammed Siraj has been dropped from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England as well as the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Siraj was overlooked for youngster Arshdeep Singh for the prestigious tournament.
With Mohammed Siraj not part of the upcoming India assignment, the star will have to fulfill his domestic duties, thanks to the latest guidelines issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following the disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 campaign in Australia.
Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) mandated that all Indian players must participate in domestic cricket in all formats if not on national duty to remain eligible for Indian team selection and central contracts.
Hyderabad await Mohammed Siraj’s decision for Ranji Trophy 2024-25. after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was cancelled
However, with the next round of Ranji Trophy 2024-25 scheduled to begin on January 23, there is still no clarity over Mohammed Siraj’s participation for Hyderabad in the first-class tournament. Many top international stars are set to feature for their national teams in the next Ranji round, including Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill.
But the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) remains unaware of Mohammed Siraj’s availability for the rest of the ongoing Ranji Trophy in 2024-25. It is said that the Hyderabad cricket team management is yet to receive any communication regarding Siraj ahead of their crucial Ranji Trophy 2024-25 clash against Himachal Pradesh at home.
Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president Jagan Mohan Rao and senior selection committee chairman Harimohan Puruvu also refused to share any updates on the pacer’s availability. However, Siraj has been a regular in the Ranji Trophy for his state team, Hyderabad.
We have not heard anything about him from the management of HCA: Hyderabad Cricket Team
The Times of India quoted a member of the Hyderabad cricket team board as saying, “We have not received any news yet. So far we haven’t heard anything about him from HCA.”
The right-handed pacer has so far played 76 first-class matches and taken 260 wickets at an impressive average of 26.10 and an economy rate of 3.26 with best match figures of 6/21. He was also impressive on the recent tour of Australia, where he finished with 22 wickets in 5 Test matches.
Mohammed Siraj also played a key role in leading the Men in Blue to the 2023 ODI World Cup final and 2024 T20 World Cup glory, as well as winning the Asia Cup 2023 title. Despite his proven track record and experience, the Indian selectors backed Arshdeep Singh for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy.
Rohit Sharma explains why Mohammed Siraj dropped out of CT 2025 squad
Arshdeep has played only 8 ODIs so far, but India captain Rohit Sharma stressed that the young pacer’s ability to bowl at any stage of the game has stood Siraj in good stead for the upcoming eight-nation tournament, where they will begin their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20.
Rohit Sharma stated, “Siraj, his effectiveness goes down when he doesn’t bowl with the new ball.”
