Former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra has expressed his disappointment over the absence of Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj from the team’s squad for the Champions Trophy. Chopra believed that Siraj could have been a befitting option in place of veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
India’s pace attack is highly potent with the likes of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, and they also have an additional bowling option in Hardik Pandya, who, in the past, has delivered promising spells. Pandya also played a vital role in India’s victory at the T20I World Cup. But, Siraj’s absence has been a big talking point.
"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.
Chopra also believed that Siraj would have had higher chances than Jadeja to make it to the playing XI.
"You could have done that because 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.
Meanwhile, India’s spin attack includes the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. India will be playing their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai as they will kick off their campaign by taking on Bangladesh on February 20.
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja