‘Could have left out Ravindra Jadeja’ – Aakash Chopra on Mohammed Siraj’s exclusion from Champions Trophy squad

Aakash Chopra backs Siraj ahead of Jadeja. (Source – BCCI)

India’s squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy, which will will be starting from February 19, has been announced. There have been some surprising exclusions from the 15-member team, with the biggest being of pacer Mohammed Siraj, who was one of the first-choice seamers in the team during the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.

The Indian seam attack will feature Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Meanwhile, former India opening batter and commentator Aakash Chopra does not agree with Siraj’s exclusion, stating that the pacer would have added more value to the team and could have taken the place of Jadeja, who he feels won’t find a place in the playing XI.

“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,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“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 lesser 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,” he added.

Chopra highlights Siraj’s great numbers in ODIs

Chopra further backed Siraj’s case by bringing up his performances since January 2022, highlighting the fact that he has played the most ODIs in the last three years and has the second-best ODI figures in the said period.

“Who has played the most ODIs in the last two (three) years, from Jan 1, 2022, till now? Mohammed Siraj. Who has bowled the most overs? Mohammed Siraj. Who has bowled the most maidens? Mohammed
Siraj. Who has the second-best economy after Jasprit Bumrah? Mohammed Siraj. Who has the second-best ODI figures in this period? Mohammed Siraj,” Chopra said.

“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,” he concluded.

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