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India’s pace sensation Mohammed Siraj, a key performer in the national squad over the past few years, found himself out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad. The selectors opted for Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, especially after Jasprit Bumrah’s injury forced him out of contention. While the team celebrated a triumphant campaign in Dubai, Siraj’s omission remained a talking point.
India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, shed light on the decision, citing Siraj’s lack of effectiveness with the old ball as the primary reason for leaving him out. However, Siraj has now hit back, dismissing Rohit’s reasoning with hard statistics.
“Numbers Speak for Themselves,” Says Siraj
Siraj, speaking ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, was firm in his response.
“I have taken the most wickets with the old ball in the past year among the world’s ten fastest bowlers. My economy rate is also low. The numbers speak for themselves. I have performed well with both the new and old ball,” Siraj stated confidently in a press conference.
Before the Champions Trophy squad announcement, Siraj experienced a dip in form over the previous six months. However, he regained momentum with a strong performance in the Test series against Australia. Despite this, Rohit Sharma explained that the team had limited slots and had to make tough calls.
“Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit if he’s not going to take the new ball. We discussed it at length and we are only taking three seamers there (CT) because we wanted all the all-rounders with us,” Rohit had said when justifying the selection.
“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,” he further added.
Eyes on England and IPL Glory
When questioned about his exclusion, Siraj remained composed, emphasizing that selection was beyond his control. His focus, he said, was firmly set on the upcoming assignments.
“Look, selection is not in my hands. I have only a cricket ball in my hands and I wanted to do as much as I can with that. I don’t want to put pressure on myself thinking about selection, as I want to focus on my performance.
“Yeah, as a player, it remains in the back of your mind that there is a tour of England and the Asia Cup, but I don’t really seriously think about it, as my focus is on IPL and doing well for Gujarat Titans and helping them win another IPL title,” Siraj added.
With a packed cricketing calendar ahead, Siraj now aims to let his performance do the talking as he eyes redemption in the upcoming tournaments.
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