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Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu questioned the exclusion of Mohammed Siraj from India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Surprisingly, the spearhead of Indian pacer was 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 the national selectors have picked the perfect squad, which has the ability to face any challenge in any condition in the upcoming 50-over tournament prestige
Navjot Singh Sidhu slams Mohammed Siraj’s omission from India’s 2025 ICC Champions Trophy squad
The noted commentator has also highlighted the Indian selectors’ preference for all-rounders, noting the inclusion of 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 was disappointed with their decision to overlook Mohammed Siraj. Sidhu stressed that he would have opted for four seamers and three spinners to balance the CT 2025 squad.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was quoted by Sports Tak as saying, “Going for Team India for the Champions Trophy, the selectors seem to have given importance to all-rounders. The team has four quality players in Hardik Pandya, 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 pacers and three spinners which would have kept Mohammed Siraj in the squad.”
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 2024 T20 World Cup, but Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t get a match, and that’s where they missed an opportunity to have a player fit for the Caribbean conditions.
The former Indian cricketer believes that spinners are not as effective in Dubai as they are elsewhere, so it would have been a big call to have extra seamers in the form of Siraj for the prestigious tournament. However, he still believes that India have a good balanced squad for the Champions Trophy.
Navjot Singh Sidhu explains why Siraj should have been picked for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Sidhu signed off by saying, “That’s why the last time we brought four spinners to the West Indies, you left one of them (Yuzvendra Chahal) out and didn’t give him a game. But if we look at the conditions from Sharjah and Dubai, the 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 played just 8 ODIs so far, while Mohammed Siraj has 71 wickets in just 44 ODI appearances, and has been one of India’s main spinners in recent years. He played a crucial role in India’s Asia Cup victory in 2023, with a career-best performance of 6/21 in the final against Sri Lanka.
Siraj then helped India reach the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, where he took an impressive 14 wickets. The fiery pacer was also in good form on the tour of Australia recently.
