ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Navjot Singh Sidhu attacks Ajit Agarkar over Mohammed Siraj's axing with strong arguments
Published - 19 Jan 2025, 03:05 PM | Updated - 19 Jan 2025, 03:06 PM
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Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu questioned Mohammed Siraj's exclusion from India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Indian pace spearhead was surprisingly left out in favor of left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh for the mega event.
Analyzing India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad, Navjot Singh Sidhu believes that the national selectors have picked the perfect team, which has the ability to counter any challenge in any condition in the upcoming 50-over prestigious tournament.
Navjot Singh Sidhu slams Mohammed Siraj’s omission from India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
The well-known commentator has also highlighted the Indian selectors’ preference for all-rounders, pointing out the inclusion of the quality all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
However, Navjot Singh Sidhu admitted that the selectors had picked a strong team, but he was disappointed with their decision to overlook Mohammed Siraj. Sidhu has emphasized that he would have opted for four seamers and three spinners to balance the CT 2025 squad.
I would have kept Mohammed Siraj in the CT squad for sure: Navjot Sidhu
Navjot Singh Sidhu was quoted as saying by Sports Tak, “Going by India’s squad for the Champions Trophy, it looks like selectors have given importance to the all-rounders. The squad has four quality all-rounders in Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar. And this team has the ability to stand tall in difficult situations. But if I had to pick the side, I would have played four seamers and three spinners. I would have kept Mohammed Siraj in the squad for sure.”
Sidhu also explained why he believes Mohammed Siraj should have been included in India's squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. He noted that India had selected four spinners for the T20 World Cup 2024, but Yuzvendra Chahal didn't get a game, and that’s where they missed an opportunity to have a suitable player for the Caribbean conditions.
The former Indian cricketer believes that the spinners aren't as effective in Dubai as they are in other places, so it would have been a great call to have extra seamers in the form of Siraj for the prestigious tournament. However, he still feels India has a good, balanced squad for the Champions Trophy.
Navjot Singh Sidhu explains why Siraj should have been picked for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Sidhu signed off by saying, “Reason being, the last time when we carried four spinners in West Indies, you left aside one of them (Yuzvendra Chahal) and didn’t give him a game. But if you look at Sharjah and Dubai conditions, spinners are not that effective there. A little bit here and there, but overall, I see a good balance in the side.”
Notably, Arshdeep Singh has so far played only 8 ODIs, while Mohammed Siraj has 71 wickets in just 44 ODI appearances, and he has been one of India's key pacers in recent years. He played a crucial role in India's Asia Cup win in 2023, delivering a career-best performance of 6/21 in the final against Sri Lanka.
Siraj then helped India to make it to the 2023 ODI World Cup final on home soil, where he scalped an impressive 14 wickets. The fiery pacer was also in good form on the Australia tour recently.
