Ajit Agarkar reveals reason for Mohammed Siraj’s exclusion from Champions Trophy squad

India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar has revealed the reason for Mohammed Siraj’s exclusion from the Champions Trophy squad. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Arshdeep Singh have been picked as the three seamers in the team.

Siraj has an impressive record in ODIs, picking 71 wickets in 44 wickets at an average of 24.06 and thus his absence was a big surprise. However, Agarkar reasoned that Siraj might not have been effective with the old ball and it played a key role in his exlusion.

Ajit Agarkar said in the press conference on Saturday, “But that’s purely because we thought of it. We’re not sure about (Jasprit) Bumrah (expected to be fit from the third ODI against England), whether he’s going to play or not. We wanted to pick a squad where we have options of both, somebody to bowl with the new ball and somebody to bowl at the back end. Obviously, with Bumrah missing, we’re not sure.

“We wanted Arshdeep to come and play that role of bowling at the back end and (Mohammed) Shami, obviously we saw what he did with the new ball and that is where we feel that Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit if he’s not going to take the new ball.

“We discussed at length about it and we are only taking three seamers there because we wanted all the all-rounders with us. It’s an unfortunate thing that he (Siraj) has to miss out but we had no option but to get the guys who can perform a certain role. I personally feel that we have guys who can bowl with the new ball and be effective in the middle and then effective at the back end so you need to cover all three facets of the game,” Agarkar said.

Agarkar revealed that Karun Nair’s form was also discussed but admitted it’s not easy to break into this potent Indian team. Nair amassed 779 runs with five hundreds in the Vijay Hazare trophy and guided his team to the final.

“Karun Nair’s form was discussed. Those are really special performances. We did have a chat, no doubt about it, when those kinds of performances happen. At the moment, finding a spot in this team is very difficult. So, unfortunately, you can’t fit everyone in. It’s a squad of 15. But those performances certainly make you take notice,” Agarkar said. 

India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.