AB de Villiers & Mohammad Siraj. Pic Credits: X

ICC Champions Trophy 2025 : AB De Villiers Backs Decision To Drop Senior Player Mohammed Siraj From India’s 2025 Champions Trophy Squad

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Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj is set to represent Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy after being dropped from the Indian squad for the upcoming white-ball series against England and the subsequent Champions Trophy 2025. Mohammed Siraj  has begun gearing up for the upcoming Group B Ranji Trophy match for Hyderabad against another former champion, Vidarbha, to be played in Nagpur from January 30 to February 2.

India’s Champions Trophy squad was announced on Saturday, and Mohammed Siraj was not included in the 15-member team. Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Shami are the three fast bowlers picked for the eight-team tournament, beginning February 19, 2025.

Mohammed Siraj excluded from the Champions Trophy squad for India

In India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad, the pace department has been a major concern with senior stars in the race to return to being fit for the tournament. Shami will have to make his case for selection in the upcoming white-ball games against England while Bumrah’s availability remains a mystery.

Another surprising call that was taken by the Indian cricket board was to not pick Mohammed Siraj, who, along with Bumrah and Shami, were the fast-bowling trio that featured in India’s 2023 World Cup campaign, where they made the final. Mohammed Siraj’s form was a big concern in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, where he finished with 20 wickets and was India’s second-highest wicket-taker in the series behind Bumrah.

Despite the concerns regarding Mohammed Siraj’s selection, the former Indian cricketer, Suresh Raina, has backed the Hyderabad pacer to make his way back into the side and feels that he is the ideal option to replace Bumrah should the pace spearhead be unable to return to fitness.

Star Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was ignored by BCCI selectors for a place in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad. The 30-year-old fast bowler from Hyderabad has 71 wickets to his name in 44 ODIs played so far. He was on fire for India in 2023 and also reached the No. 1 position in the ICC ODI bowler’s ranking. But despite his super show, Mohammed Siraj was not considered for a place in Team India. Siraj’s omission from the Champions Trophy squad came as a surprise for many fans and former greats of the game.

Mohammed Siraj’s former RCB teammate and South African cricketer Ab De Villiers thought it was right by the selectors to drop Mohammed Siraj from the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to his dip in performances during recent times.

AB de Villiers backs decision to drop senior player Mohammed Siraj from India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has said he wasn’t surprised as Team India left out Mohammed Siraj for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. The 40-year-old pointed out that the speedster has looked “unsettled” for the last few months.

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that bowling the extra overs in Tests during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series might have played a role in the team’s decision. He further addressed the technical fault behind Mohammed Siraj’s slump with the ball.

AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel:

” I don’t think Siraj’s absence will affect the Indian bowling unit. He’s looked unsettled for quite some time. It might be due to the Australia tour, he bowled a lot of overs and gave his complete energy. He did well sometimes but not enough the other times. I think he is unable to hold the ball strongly.”

De Villiers, however, backed Siraj to bounce back strongly.

“I am disappointed that he didn’t find a place. He’s an incredible bowler, I am convinced he will be back.”

AB de Villiers backs India squad for 2025 ICC Champions Trophy

AB de Villiers further backed India selectors for picking a batting heavy squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. He pointed out how Glenn Maxwell helped Australia beat Afghanistan single-handedly with his double century at the 2023 ODI World Cup. He said in the same video:

” I think this is a tournament-winning team. First of all, their matches will be held in UAE. This is because they’ve picked a batting-heavy team. It’s because to win big ICC tournaments, you need strong batting team. We’ve always seen Australia and in the World Cup, they batted deep and won the match. For example – Glenn Maxwell’s double century against Afghanistan.”

De Villiers added that the likes of Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar can combat any circumstance in the ICC event.

” It’s usual that Hardik Pandya is an all-rounder, and Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington can bat. This is the key that is important for them. They have a deep batting lineup and enough bowling options. They have options left, right, and the centre, which can cover any circumstance.”

” For them, the main preference will be Rohit Sharma and other experienced players like Virat Kohli. Jadeja and Hardik Pandya, bring them in form, and ensure they score runs. And we know what youngsters can do,” he added.

India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.

The Men in Blue are placed alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand in Group A of the Champions Trophy. India will play a three-match ODI series at home against England in February before flying to Dubai to take part in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches. Jasprit Bumrah will miss the first two matches of the bilateral series at home due to fitness-related issues, and in his place Harshit Rana was added to India’s squad.

Harshit, who made his international debut for India on November 22, 2024, during the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth, is yet to play a white-ball match for the Men in Blue. He is part of India’s T20I squad as well for the ongoing five-match series.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights

 


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