Mohammed Siraj, a consistent performer in India’s bowling attack across formats for the past two to three years, was notably left out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad and the pacer gave a reply to Rohit Sharma’s critic.
The selectors opted for Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana in his place, a decision that surprised many, particularly after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out due to injury. Explaining the rationale behind the move, India captain Rohit Sharma pointed out Siraj’s ‘ineffectiveness’ with the old ball as a critical factor for his exclusion.
Despite the selectors’ choice to include Harshit Rana proving fruitful, as India went on to claim the Champions Trophy 2025 title in Dubai, Siraj has now challenged Rohit’s assessment.
Speaking at a press conference before the start of the IPL 2025 season, Siraj backed himself by highlighting his impressive statistics with the old ball to refute the perception about his performance.
“I have taken the most wickets with the old ball in the past year among the world’s ten fastest bowlers. My economy rate is also low. The numbers speak for themselves. I have performed well with both the new and old ball,” Siraj asserted, addressing the doubts about his effectiveness.
Dip in Form Preceded Omission, but Strong Comeback Followed
Siraj experienced a dip in form during the six months leading up to the Champions Trophy squad selection, which may have contributed to his exclusion. However, the pacer regained form during the Test series against Australia, delivering notable performances. Despite this comeback, Rohit Sharma clarified that the decision to leave Siraj out was influenced by the team’s strategy to maintain a balance between seamers and all-rounders in the squad.
“Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit if he’s not going to take the new ball. We discussed it at length and we are only taking three seamers there (Champions Trophy) because we wanted all the all-rounders with us,” Rohit had explained during the squad announcement press conference.
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Further elaborating on the decision, Rohit added, “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.”
Mohammed Siraj Focused on IPL and England Tour
Speaking about his exclusion from the Champions Trophy squad, Siraj acknowledged that selection decisions are beyond his control. He emphasized that his focus remains on performing well in upcoming matches, particularly with the England tour on the horizon.
“Look, selection is not in my hands. I have only a cricket ball in my hands and I wanted to do as much as I can with that. I don’t want to put pressure on myself thinking about selection, as I want to focus on my performance.
“Yeah, as a player, it remains in the back of your mind that there is a tour of England and the Asia Cup, but I don’t really seriously think about it, as my focus is on IPL and doing well for Gujarat Titans and helping them win another IPL title,” he concluded.
