Home
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes that Mohammed Siraj is a quality bowler, disagreeing to Rohit Sharma's argument that the pacer is less effective with old ball. Siraj who last featured in Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 has missed his spot in India's squad for Champions Trophy 2025.
Despite having good numbers in ODIs the speedster was not picked in India's ODI squad against England and the Champions. With the looms over Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the mega event, Siraj's absence adds to the worries.
"This question was asked to Rohit as well in the press conference. And we got an idea of what the team management is thinking because they believe that Siraj's utility, they would want to exploit more so with the new ball. But it's always a little bit risky to categorise players as okay; they can only be very effective in a particular phase," said Bangar while told media as quoted by HT.
The former India cricketer also recalled Siraj's spell during India vs Pakistan ODI World Cup match in Ahmedabad where he came to bowl 30th over and picked Babar Azam's wicket who was playing on 50 runs. He also recalled Siraj's iconic spell against Sri Lanka during the Asia Cup 2023 final where the speedster rattled the co-hosts by picking a fifer.
"So, yes to answer your question, I am a little bit surprised as to how Siraj was part of the winning team as well. Because in some of the games, he did really well in the middle overs as well. The game against Pakistan in Ahmedabad comes to my mind, where he came and broke the partnership. So, I feel that he has been India's prime bowler, even if you remember the Asia Cup. He took a fifer just close to nothing against Sri Lanka in the finals. So, I think there is a little bit of surprise, and the reason given is that they are looking at who is better-suited phase-wise. But I think a quality player is a quality player irrespective of the phase," he added.
Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to start from February 19 and the tournament will be played in a hybrid model where the matches will be played in Pakistan and Dubai. One of the semifinals and matches featuring India will take place in Dubai and the rest of the matches will be played in Pakistan's Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. The venue for the final also depends on India's performance, if the Rohit-led side qualifies for the title decider it will take place in Dubai otherwise Pakistan's Lahore will host the summit clash. Team India will start their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20.
