Mohammed Siraj remained the notable absentee in the India's Champions Trophy squad which was announced on January 18, Saturday. Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar via press conference in Mumbai announced India squads for both ODI series against England and Champions Trophy 2025. But Mohammed Siraj couldn't make a cut in either of the squad. Instead Indian selectors went for 'three seamers and four spinners' combination.
Navjot Singh Sidhu spots big loophole in India's Champions Trophy squad
Meanwhile, former India's star batter Navjot Singh Sidhu, during an exclusive interaction with Sports Tak, found out a major loophole in India's squad. He said that had he picked the squad he would have gone for three spinners and four seamers combination and would have picked Mohammed Siraj for sure.
"Going by the India's squad for Champions Trophy, looks like selectors have given importance to the all-rounders. The squad has four quality all-rounders in Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar. And this team has the ability to stand tall in difficult situation. But if I had to pick the side, I would have played four seamers and three spinners. I would have kept Mohammed Siraj in the squad for sure. Reason being, the last time when we carried four spinners in West Indies, you left aside one of them (Yuzvendra Chahal) and didn't give him a game. But if you look at Sharjah, Dubai conditions, spinners are not that effective there. Little bit here and there but overall I see a good balance in the side," Navjot Singh Sidhu told Sports Tak.
Siraj has an impressive track record, having picked 71 wickets in just 44 appearances in ODIs. Siraj played an instrumental role in India's Asia Cup 2023 title triumph, delivering a match-winning performance in the final against Sri Lanka with career-best figures of 6/21. He continued this strong form into the ODI World Cup at home, where he took 14 wickets which helped India reach final.
Despite leading the pace attack in the absence of key bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who is making his return to the team after an injury layoff, Siraj has been surprisingly overlooked in favor of left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who has limited ODI experience with only eight matches under his belt.
"It's a problem of plenty, a sweet predicament, Many will say, Sanju Samson should have been picked. But if you look at it, you have Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul in the side. And KL Rahul is better suited in 50-over format. So who will you drop. You can't have everything, where will you keep it. End of the day you can only select 15, not 20. Therefore somebody has to miss out," Sidhu added.
Watch the video here...
Rohit Sharma explains rationale behind dropping Mohammed Siraj
The exclusion of Siraj is particularly surprising considering that Jasprit Bumrah, who is currently recovering from a back spasm sustained during the recent Test series in Australia, has been included in the squad. However, Bumrah's participation is subject to fitness clearance, and he may not be available for the first two matches of the ODI series.
Later captain Rohit Sharma explained the rationale behind Siraj's absence.
“We are not sure if Jasprit Bumrah will play or not. Hence, we wanted someone who can bowl with the new ball and the old one. That is why, we have picked Arshdeep Singh, because of his abilities in the backend. Siraj’s effectiveness comes down if he doesn’t use the new ball. It’s unfortunate if he misses out,” Rohit said in the press conference.
India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja
India’s squad for ODI series against England
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja