India beat New Zealand in the Final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The Men in Blue are cruising in white-ball cricket, having won all the three major limited-overs tournaments in the past year. After clinching the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, the Blues put their hands on the ICC Champions Trophy in March this year. And just a few months later, Suryakumar Yadav & his team capped it off with an Asia Cup title. In a recent interview, fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has spoken about his selection snub.
The speedster was a part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup last year. Though he did not play each game, Siraj was a valuable asset for the team. However, the Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer was dropped from the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. As former skipper Rohit Sharma and chairman of selectors declared the squad for the tournament, Mohammed Siraj not being included did send shockwaves down the fans’ spine.
However, Rohit Sharma voiced that Siraj was not very effective with the old ball, and that was the reason because of which he was not picked. According to Rohit, the team needed a bowler who could provide cushion at the death, and hence, Arshdeep Singh was chosen to board the flight to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“We’re not sure about Bumrah, whether he will play or not. So we wanted someone who could bowl up front and at the back. It’s an unfortunate thing he had to miss out. But we had no other option than to select guys appropriate for the designated roles”, said Rohit on Siraj’s exclusion.
Mohammed Siraj has let us in to a different perspective to the statement which the former India skipper provided. Upon being asked whether the team is considering Siraj only as a Test match specialist, the speedster had a clear answer. He mentioned that he is very confident of playing all the three formats for India, whenever given a chance.
However, Siraj mentioned that the former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper communicated a different reason to him. As per Siraj, Rohit stated that most of the bowling in the UAE would be done by spinners, and that was the reason he was being dropped for the tournament. He further added that Rohit wanted the pacer to spend time focusing on his fitness, and take some days off.
“We played the Champions Trophy in Dubai, there was heat, and we needed more spinners there, that’s why I wasn’t picked. Rohit (Sharma) bhai told me that most of the bowling would be done by spinners and he didn’t want me to go there and just sit on the bench. He told me to spend time with family, practise and work on my fitness”, said Mohammed Siraj on the communication with Rohit.
Furthermore, the 31-year-old speedster added that the Asia Cup 2025 was right after the five-match Test series in England. Siraj was the only fast bowler from India to have played all the five Tests, and played a crucial role in the last Test at The Oval. Hence, he thought it was a good opportunity to get some rest. The pacer picked seven wickets in the first Test against West Indies, and is likely to feature in the next one too, starting October 10.
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It has been more than a year after Mohammed Siraj last played a 50-over game for the Men in Blue. To add to that, he has scalped at least one wicket in the last eight games that he has played in the ODI format. However, most of Siraj’s wickets have come in the first 20 overs of the innings, and that can be a cause of concern.
Through his performances, the right-handed pacer has shown that he is one of the most improved bowler in the side. His ability to keep coming hard at the batter, even after being taken to the cleaners is second to none. To add to that, he has developed a variation to the stock delivery, which allows him enhance the ball to wobble a bit more than usual.
With bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh at the forefront of India’s pace battery in white-ball cricket, Mohammed Siraj will have to keep delivering performances. But to do that, he needs to be picked in the Indian XI. His most prolific spell remains to be the Final of the Asia Cup in 2023, when he shattered the batting order of the Sri Lankans to bundle them out for 50.
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