ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Aakash Chopra demands CSK superstar’s axing to include Mohammed Siraj in squad
Published - 20 Jan 2025, 03:26 PM | Updated - 20 Jan 2025, 03:27 PM
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Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has delivered a sensational statement on Mohammed Siraj’s exclusion from India’s squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He slammed the Indian captain Rohit Sharma and national selectors for ignoring Siraj for the tournament despite his consistent white-ball performances in recent years.
Aakash Chopra has strongly argued that Mohammed Siraj deserved a spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy squad, and he would not have minded even if Ravindra Jadeja could have been the one to make way for the fast bowler for the prestigious tournament to be held in Pakistan and Dubai next month.
Aakash Chopra criticizes Mohammed Siraj's exclusion and questions Ravindra Jadeja's selection for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Notably, the Indian selectors picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Arshdeep Singh as the three primary fast bowlers, while they opted for Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as spin-bowling all-rounders, alongside Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Kuldeep Yadav is the sole specialist spinner in India’s Champions Trophy squad. Well, Chopra believes that the Indian cricket team has picked two left-arm spinners and one off-spinner in the squad for the tournament, but according to him, the national selectors could have dropped one of them to accommodate Mohammed Siraj.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel: “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. 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.”
Siraj would have had greater value than Jadeja: Aakash Chopra
He has boldly claimed that Ravindra Jadeja will not provide much value that could have been provided by Siraj to the Men in Blue in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Chopra even claimed that Jadeja may not even play in the tournament at all, so it would have made more sense to have a player like Siraj, who offers a better chance of contributing significantly.
The cricket expert added, “You could have done that because 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 fewer 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.”
Read Also: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Mohammed Siraj breaks silence on ODI snub
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra slammed Rohit Sharma for his excuse to drop Mohammed Siraj for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 while highlighting the fiery pacer’s impressive stats in ODI cricket over the past few years. Notably, Rohit Sharma had said that Siraj lost his effectiveness with the ball.
Aakash Chopra lashes out at Rohit Sharma for providing invalid reason behind Mohammed Siraj's snub
Since January 2022, Siraj has played the most matches, bowled the most overs, and delivered the highest number of maiden overs among Indian bowlers. The cricket pundit also mentioned that Siraj has the second-best economy rate, just behind Jasprit Bumrah. The former Indian batter also said that Siraj is still one of the best pacers with the old ball.
Chopra signed off by saying, “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.”
