NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed his disappointment over the exclusion of Mohammed Siraj from India’s Champions Trophy squad, suggesting that the seamer would have been a more valuable asset than a spin-bowling all-rounder like Ravindra Jadeja.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra argued that Siraj’s consistent performances in ODIs warranted his inclusion in the 15-member squad.
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“In my opinion, Mohammed Siraj should have been a part of this team, and I will even tell in whose place he should have been there,” Chopra stated. “The team has two left-arm spinners and one off-spinner. You could have dropped one of the three. If you wished, you could have left out Ravindra Jadeja and kept Mohammed Siraj in his place.”
Chopra also emphasised that Siraj’s chances of making the playing XI would have been higher than Jadeja’s. “I feel Siraj would have had greater value. He would have been used more. He would have contributed more to the team, and I see lesser chances of Jadeja playing. Honestly speaking, he might not play at all. So if Jadeja is not going to play, you would have had a player who would have had greater chances of playing,” he said.
Backing Siraj’s case, Chopra highlighted the Hyderabad seamer’s stellar ODI statistics since January 2022. “Who has played the most ODIs in the last two (three) years, from Jan 1, 2022, till now? Mohammed Siraj. Who has bowled the most overs? Mohammed Siraj. Who has bowled the most maidens? Mohammed Siraj. Who has the second-best economy after Jasprit Bumrah? Mohammed Siraj. Who has the second-best ODI figures in this period? Mohammed Siraj.”
India squad for ICC Champions Trophy
- Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami,
Arshdeep Singh , Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.
Addressing concerns about Siraj’s effectiveness with the old ball, Chopra added, “Someone was telling me that he is not as effective with the old ball. We checked the metric for that as well. A user on X found out that Mohammed Siraj has been better after the 26th over than some of the best 10 bowlers in the world, which includes Kagiso Rabada, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc, in the last year and a half.”
India’s Champions Trophy squad features Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Arshdeep Singh as the specialist seamers. The tournament begins on February 19, with matches to be played in Pakistan and the UAE.
