Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has opened up on Mohammed Siraj’s future after he was ignored for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Siraj was not named in the provisional squad as chief selector Ajit Agarkar questioned the fast bowler’s role with the old ball.
But Siraj could not make it to the final squad after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out with a lower back injury. The selectors picked rookie fast bowler Harshit Rana and also added Varun Chakravarthy in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Meanwhile, Siraj has an impressive ODI record and thus his omission was a bolt from the blue for many cricket boffins. Siraj has scalped 71 wickets in 44 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.18.
“One tournament’s selection or non-selection won’t define Mohammed Siraj. He is too good a player and has been doing very well for a long time. You should look at it from two or three angles. Firstly, how the player is doing. I don’t think he is doing badly. His performance might not be extraordinary but he is not doing bad either,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“The guy’s work ethic is excellent. He puts cricket before everything else. He was playing cricket when his father passed away as well. He didn’t return home. He stayed back for the BGT (Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21) as his father also wanted him to play. He has reached this far after putting in a lot of hard work. He won’t accept defeat so early,” Chopra added.
Chopra reckons only Jasprit Bumrah is guaranteed in India’s ODI squad and Siraj can go on to take any pacer’s place as a second seamer.
“Secondly, you should look around and see which all players can take your place. Sometimes, there are so many good people that you make a mistake once, and you are out. You don’t get a chance to come back. However, when you look around, you see Bumrah, who is outstanding, but he is alone,” he said.
“Other than that, Siraj can play in place of Shami, Harshit and Arshdeep. Siraj can fit into any of the available places. After that also, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep, a lot of names are there but there is no one like Bumrah. So for Siraj, I feel there is a strong future ahead of him,” Chopra observed.
India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
