Mohammed Siraj finally reacts to brutal Champions Trophy snub with blunt message to selectors

India National Cricket Team pacer Mohammed Siraj opened up about his snub from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad. He admitted that the selection is not in his hands but he has been working hard and wants to focus on his performance.

The BCCI's selection committee surprised many when they named the Indian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Mohammed Siraj, who till then was a regular member of the team, was dropped from the squad as the selectors went ahead with Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana.

Mohammed Siraj was dropped from ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad

Skipper Rohit Sharma openly mentioned why they didn't pick Mohammed Siraj for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He said that the pacer is ineffective with the old ball, and they wanted someone who could be handy in all three phases.

Siraj, since his snub, has been putting in the hard yards. The fast bowler played in the Ranji Trophy and, for the last few weeks, has been preparing for the IPL 2025. He will be featuring for Gujarat Titans in the league and would want to create a massive impact.

I don’t want to put pressure on myself thinking about selection - Mohammed Siraj

While talking about his snub from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad, Siraj said that he doesn't want to put pressure on himself by thinking about selection. He added that although the England tour and Asia Cup are there, he wants to focus on IPL.

"Look, selection is not in my hands. I had only a cricket ball in my hands, and I wanted to do as much as I could with that. I don’t want to put pressure on myself thinking about selection, as I want to focus on my performance," Siraj told PTI.

“Yeah aș a player, it remains in the back of your mind that there is a tour of England and the Asia Cup but I don’t really seriously think about it, as my focus is on IPL and doing well for Gujarat Titans and helping them win another IPL title,” he said.

I have worked really hard with how to bowl with new and old balls - Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj revealed that he has worked a lot on his fitness and bowling and knows how to bowl with new and old balls. He also talked about his strategies for IPL 2025. He added:

"I have been playing for some years now, and usually, we don’t get that much rest. But now that I have got some time off, I have worked on my fitness and bowling skills.

“I have worked really hard with how to bowl with new and old balls, and I wanted to work on my slower balls and yorkers. This time I really used to work on those areas, and let’s how things pan out for me in this IPL,” he added.

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