Former India opener questions Mohammed Siraj's absence from Champions Trophy squad
Former India cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned Mohammad Siraj’s exclusion from India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Siraj was surprisingly left out of the 15-member team as India opted to have a spin-heavy squad and preferred Arshdeep Singh over him. The left-arm seamer was seen in imperious form in the recent T20 World Cup 2024, finishing as the joint highest wicket taker of the tournament with 17 scalps to his name from eight matches.
As far as ODIs are concerned, Arshdeep has picked 12 wickets from eight matches at an average of 24.08 with one five-wicket haul to his name. Aakash Chopra also shared his views on Siraj’s exclusion and mentioned that the India seamer hasn’t done much wrong to not even get considered in the squad.
“He hasn’t done so much wrong that he is not even featured in the squad. I feel for DSP. Siraj, I am feeling for you. Siraj could have been picked. There could have been one lesser spinner. Harshit Rana is also ahead in the ODI queue ahead of Siraj, which is very surprising,” said Chopra on his Youtube Channel.
Siraj is the third-highest wicket taker in ODIs since 2022 with 71 wickets to his name from 43 matches at an average of 22.97 with one five-wicket haul to his name. Furthermore, Chopra also spoke about India choosing just three seamers for the Champions Trophy and highlighted their strategy of playing three spinners during the tournament.
India to begin their Champions Trophy campaign on February 20
“There are just three fast bowlers, and that is big news for me. When you pick three pacers, you will only play 2 fast bowlers. If you wanted to play three seamers, you would have picked four in your squad. It means that you have decided to play three spinners. You have played your hand before anything has even started,” he added.
Meanwhile, India have been put in Group A in the Champions Trophy alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. They will start their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai, followed by the all-important fixture against Pakistan on February 23. The Men in Blue will play all of their matches in Dubai, including the semi-final and the final.
