His exclusion raised many eyebrows.
The Indian selectors took a few interesting calls while announcing the 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, slated to start from February 19. One noticeable decision was the snub of premier pacer Mohammed Siraj from the roster.
While many fans and experts questioned the decision, Siraj’s former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate and Proteas legend AB de Villiers however have backed the move. Notably, the duo have played for RCB together during the South African’s last few seasons. De Villiers retired from IPL after the 2021 season of the tournament. Meanwhile, Siraj will now play for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 after RCB released him.
AB highlighted that Siraj had ‘looked unsettled’ in the past few months, especially during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia.
Speaking in a video on his Youtube channel, AB de Villiers said,
“I don’t think Siraj’s absence will affect the Indian bowling unit. He’s looked unsettled for quite some time. It might be due to the Australia tour, he bowled a lot of overs and gave his complete energy. He did well sometimes but not enough the other times. I think he is unable to hold the ball strongly.”
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The Indian team went for a three-pronged pace attack with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh for the marquee ICC event. Justifying the selection call, skipper Rohit Sharma explained that India wanted bowlers who could bowl with the new ball as well as the death.
Given that Bumrah’s extent of availability for the Champions Trophy 2025 remains uncertain due to a back injury he picked up in Australia, India opted for Arshdeep over Siraj to fill that role.
Arshdeep is very handy with the new ball and has a knack of picking up wickets in the powerplay overs. Echoing on the same lines, De Villiers also emphasized the strategic composition of the team and lauded the balance between batting and bowling resources.
“I think this is a tournament-winning team,” the Proteas concluded.
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