On Mohammed Siraj's Champions Trophy Exclusion, Rohit's Blunt Verdict: "Effectiveness Comes Down..."

A significant point which came out from India's squads for the ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy was the exclusion of pacer Mohammed Siraj, with captain Rohit Sharma saying his effectiveness goes down by a little bit when not handed the new ball. Rohit also said that Siraj, who has 71 ODI wickets against his name in 44 games, including picking a remarkable six-fer in the 2023 Asia Cup final, was not locked in for a certain role in the team, especially with question marks still around Jasprit Bumrah's availability.

In place of Siraj, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has earned a spot after becoming the highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He joins the fast-bowling department for the twin 50-over assignments alongside Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya.

“That's purely because we thought over it. We are not sure about Bumrah, whether he is going to play or not. So, we thought of wanting someone who can bowl with the new ball and at the backend. So we picked Arshdeep to bowl at the backend. Shami, we all saw what he can do with the new ball.”

"That is where we feel that Siraj's effectiveness comes down a little bit when he is not bowling with the new ball. We discussed it at length about it, as we are only taking three seamers there because we wanted all these all-rounders with us. It's an unfortunate thing that he has to miss out.”

“But we had no option but to get the guys who can perform a certain role. I personally feel we have guys who can bowl with the new ball, be effective in the middle, and at the back end, as well as cover all facets of the game. With these three bowlers, we think we can do that," said Rohit in the press conference in Mumbai after the squad announcement.

In eight ODIs,