Mohammed Siraj responded to Rohit Sharma and Team India regarding his exclusion from the Champions Trophy squad during a press conference ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Siraj was dropped from the Champions Trophy squad despite a decent performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Players like Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh were chosen ahead of him for the white-ball tournament. When Rohit Sharma was asked about Siraj's omission, he explained that it was due to Siraj's ineffectiveness with the old ball, which factored into the decision not to select him.
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"Siraj's effectiveness diminishes a bit if he's not taking the new ball. We discussed this at length and decided to take only three seamers for the Champions Trophy because we wanted to include all-rounders as well," Rohit said during the squad announcement press conference.
He added, "It's unfortunate that he has to miss out, but we didn't have any other option than to choose players who can perform specific roles."
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Now Mohammed Siraj has broken his silence on the matter, highlighting his contributions with the new ball. Since 2021, Siraj has been India’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs, claiming 71 wickets at an average of 23.0. Although he faced a dip in form after the T20 World Cup last year, he made a commendable comeback in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, only to find himself dropped from the Champions Trophy squad.
Addressing his performance with the old ball, Siraj stated, "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."
When asked about his potential return to the Indian team, Siraj gave an straight forward response
"Look, selection is not in my hands. I only focus on the cricket ball and will do as much as I can with that. I don't want to put pressure on myself by thinking about selection; I want to concentrate on my performance."
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Siraj also mentioned that he is not focused on future events like the England tour or the Asia Cup. Instead, he emphasized his current focus on the IPL, stating he is ready to give his best to the Gujarat Titans this season and hopes to contribute to their success in winning the IPL title.
Gujarat Titans will kick off their season against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on March 25th at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
