Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels Mohammed Siraj should have been in India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad in place of Ravindra Jadeja. Siraj was the most notable absentee from India’s squad for the marquee event.
The fast bowler’s omission was a surprise for many cricket boffins as Siraj has an impressive ODI record. Siraj has picked 71 wickets in 44 ODI matches at a decent average of 24.06.
India has picked three seamers in the squad – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh – whereas the selectors have picked three spinning all-rounders in the team – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
“In my opinion, Mohammed Siraj should have been a part of this team and I will even tell in whose place he should have been there. The team has two left-arm spinners and one off-spinner. You could have dropped one of the three. If you wished, you could have left out Ravindra Jadeja and kept Mohammed Siraj in his place,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra opined that Siraj would have had a better chance of making it into the team’s final XI than Ravindra Jadeja.
“You could have done that because I feel Siraj would have had greater value. He would have been used more. He would have contributed more to the team and I see lesser chances of Jadeja playing. Honestly speaking, he might not play at all. So if Jadeja is not going to play, you would have had a player who would have had greater chances of playing,” he observed.
The renowned commentator highlighted Siraj’s impressive ODI record since January 1st, 2022.
“Who has played the most ODIs in the last two (three) years, from Jan 1 2022 till now – Mohammed Siraj. Who has bowled the most overs – Mohammed Siraj. Who has bowled the most maidens – Mohammed Siraj. Who has the second-best economy after (Jasprit) Bumrah – Mohammed Siraj. Who has the second-best ODI figures in this period – Mohammed Siraj,” he said.
The chief selector Ajit Agarkar said in the presser that Siraj is not that effective with the old ball and it played a key role in his exclusion but Chopra said it is not a true fact.
“Someone was telling me that he is not as effective with the old ball. We checked the metric for that as well. A user on X found out that Mohammed Siraj has been better after the 26th over than some of the best 10 bowlers in the world, which includes Kagiso Rabada, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, in the last year and a half,” Chopra observed.
India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
