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Rohit Sharma believes Mohammed Siraj has a huge weakness which India needs to avoid in the Champions Trophy.
Mohammed Siraj. (Picture Credit: PTI)
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said on Saturday that Mohammed Siraj was not effective enough with the old ball to get a place in India’s squads for the 2025 Champions Trophy and the ODI series against England.
India only picked three pacers in the squads. Mohammed Shami, who’s making his comeback after the 2023 World Cup, and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh got into both teams. On the other hand, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Jasprit Bumrah might be available from the second week of February, and in the meantime, Harshit Rana will take his place in the England series.
“We only wanted three seamers,” Rohit said at India’s squad-announcement press conference on Saturday. “It’s unfortunate he (Siraj) has to miss out. Siraj’s effectiveness comes down when not bowling with the new ball. We have no option but we wanted guys for specific roles. We wanted guys who can bowl with the new ball, and be effective in the middle overs and at the back end. With these three boys (Shami, Harshit and Arshdeep) we can do that.”
Shami’s return seems to have hurt Siraj’s chances. The former was one of the best bowlers in the 2023 World Cup and his control of seam movement allowed him to be effective across the three phases of an ODI innings.
Meanwhile, Arshdeep has been in stunning form in white-ball cricket. He was India’s highest wicket-taker at the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup.
The left-arm quick backed that up with a table-topping 20 wickets at an average of 18.25 in the 2025 Vijay Hazare Trophy. His hard work in polishing his yorkers and slower ones over the years seems to have paid off and have made him a versatile option who can swing the new ball while being frugal at the death.
“Shami is a stalwart. Arshdeep has the experience and Harshit has the potential. I know it’s hard to ignore numbers but look at Jaiswal – we’ve picked him despite him not playing ODI cricket in recent times. Some players will miss out. You can’t please everyone. You want best possible squad to win games in different situations,” Rohit added in the press conference.
