Mohammed Siraj, has been India’s leading ODI wicket-taker with 71 wickets in 43 matches, has been one of India’s most exemplary pacers for the past three years. His contributions were major contributors to India’s success, particularly when he took the 6/21 haul in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka in 2023 and the 14-wicket haul during the ODI World Cup of 2023.
Mohammed Siraj Overlooked By Selectors
However, despite his crucial lead in charge of the pace attack, Siraj was omitted from India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad. Instead, the selectors decided to include the left-arm pace of Arshdeep Singh who has played only eight ODIs. Therefore, this decision along with the inclusion of Hardik Pandya as a pace-bowling all-rounder relegated Siraj to the side lines.
Only two Indians in this list.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 18, 2025
Only one Indian fast bowler.
Most ODI wickets since 01.01.2022.
His name is Md. Siraj. pic.twitter.com/2PZw53f4Rc
No Place In ODI Squad Against England Also
With the continuous concerns over Bumrah’s fitness, captain Rohit Sharma wanted to make a varied pace attack to compensate for the void left by Bumrah’s strengths. Siraj was overlooked, and in his place, the slot that Bumrah left vacant for the ODIs against England was taken by seamer Harshit Rana. The management of the team went for a different combination despite Siraj’s stellar ODI record, which has been questioned over his exclusion from the tournament in Dubai.
Ajit Agarkar Reveals The Reason Behind Siraj’s Omission
“We wanted Arshdeep to come and play that role of bowling at the back end and (Mohammed) Shami, obviously we saw what he did with the new ball and that is where we feel that Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit if he’s not going to take the new ball.
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“We discussed at length about it and we are only taking three seamers there because we wanted all the all-rounders with us. 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. I personally feel that we have guys who can bowl with the new ball and be effective in the middle and then effective at the back end so you need to cover all three facets of the game,” Agarkar said.
