Indian captain Rohit Sharma spoke at length about the absence of Mohammed Siraj in the 15-man Champions Trophy squad, which was announced on Saturday. Rohit’s comments came during the press conference, where he sat alongside chief selector Ajit Agarkar for answering the question of the reports.
The Men in Blue went ahead with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh as the pace-bowling trio for the showpiece event. Moreover, Harshit Rana can fill in for Bumrah, if he misses the Champions Trophy due to injury. Hence, there is no room for a veteran pacer like Siraj, who has proved his merit across all formats.
However, Rohit provided a valid explanation about Siraj missing out on the squad. As per the Indian captain, they wanted a pacer who can be equally adept with the new as well as the old ball, and Arshdeep fit the bill perfectly.
“Only Siraj is not there (among experienced players),” Rohit confirmed. “We are not sure of Bumrah and so we picked a squad where we had options of players who can bowl up front and at the back end. If Bumrah is not there we wanted Arshdeep (Singh) to do it.
Moreover, Rohit Sharma added that Mohammed Siraj hasn’t been impressive enough in the death overs, which ultimately proved to be the hurdle for him getting named to the Champions Trophy squad. According to Askcricinfo, Siraj has picked only 10 out of his 71 wickets in the overs 41-50 and holds an economy of 7.68 and an average of 38.30.
“That is where we felt Siraj’s effectiveness comes down when he is not taking the new ball. It is unfortunate he is missing out, but we had to get guys who can perform a certain role. I feel we have players who can bowl with new ball, bowl in the middle and at the end.”
India’s Champions Trophy squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, 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.
Rohit Sharma shares his take on Yashasvi Jaiswal’s inclusion in Champions Trophy squad
Yashasvi Jaiswal made a surprise presence in India’s Champions Trophy squad, despite not even making his ODI debut until now. However, Jaiswal emerged as the side’s leading run-scorer in the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with around 1,800 runs and holds an average of 36.15 in 23 T20Is. The southpaw was also retained by the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League after scoring 435 runs in the last season.
Rohit Sharma pointed out that they have picked Jaiswal due to his impressive form in the recent months, hinting at his resilience against a tough opposition like Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He said:
“We picked Jaiswal on the basis of what he has shown in the last few months despite not playing ODI cricket. He has been picked on potential and sometimes you have to do that.
“In that, some players will miss out, it’s very unlucky but you can’t please everyone. You try and make the best team to win games in different situations and I feel with these guys you can have that,” Rohit Sharma added.
The eight-team tournament kicks off on February 19 and will take place in Pakistan and the UAE.
