Rohit Sharma On Mohammed Siraj: The Indian squad for the Champions Trophy has been announced, and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has not made it to the team. Indian captain Rohit Sharma has explained why Siraj was not included in the squad. Rohit Sharma stated that when Mohammed Siraj uses an old ball, he has been less effective. Despite his strong performances, it is unfortunate that Siraj has not secured a spot in the Champions Trophy squad.

“We had no choice left…”

On Mohammed Siraj, Rohit Sharma explained that they had no choice left and were looking for options that fit the particular role. While the team has bowlers capable of bowling in the middle overs and death overs, apart from the new ball, Rohit Sharma believes that Siraj is effective with the new ball but struggles with the old ball. As a result, Siraj had to be dropped from the Champions Trophy squad. Siraj was also seen recently in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Rohit Sharma Explains Siraj’s Omission from Champions Trophy Squad

Rohit Sharma clarified that both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are strong new-ball bowlers, and for the death overs, the team preferred Arshdeep Singh over Mohammed Siraj. He mentioned that if Bumrah misses out due to a stress fracture, the team management expects the left-arm seamer, Arshdeep, to step up with the new ball.

Rohit Sharma On Mohammed Siraj
Rohit Sharma On Mohammed Siraj

“We are not sure about Bumrah, whether he’s going to play or not. So, we wanted to pick a squad where we have options for both – someone to bowl with the new ball and at the back end. Obviously, with Bumrah missing, or not sure, we wanted Arshdeep to play that role in the death overs. Shami has shown what he can do with the new ball, and that’s where we feel Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit if he’s not going to take the new ball,” Rohit said during the press conference (Champions Trophy 2025).

Mohammed Siraj’s Career

Mohammed Siraj has represented India in 44 ODIs, where he has taken 71 wickets at a strike rate of 27.82 and an average of 24.06. His best bowling figure in ODIs is 6 wickets for 21 runs. In this format, Siraj has maintained an economy rate of 5.19. In addition, he has taken 100 wickets in Tests and 14 wickets in T20s for India.