"He won't accept defeat so early" - Aakash Chopra on bowler's future after being ignored for 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Mohammed Siraj's non-selection for the 2025 Champions Trophy won't define the seamer's future. He pointed out that the Hyderabad pacer has overcome hard times and won't get disheartened because of being ignored once.

The Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 onwards. Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are the three specialist pacers picked in India's 15-member squad for the tournament.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener was asked about Siraj being ignored for the ICC event, with Rana being picked ahead of him.

"One tournament's selection or non-selection won't define Mohammed Siraj. He is too good a player and has been doing very well for a long time. You should look at it from two or three angles. Firstly, how the player is doing. I don't think he is doing badly. His performance might not be extraordinary but he is not doing bad either," he responded (4:50).

"The guy's work ethic is excellent. He puts cricket before everything else. He was playing cricket when his father passed away as well. He didn't return home. He stayed back for the BGT (Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21) as his father also wanted him to play. He has reached this far after putting in a lot of hard work. He won't accept defeat so early," Chopra added.

Aakash Chopra noted that he believes in Mohammed Siraj and that the seamer won't let him down. He predicted the Gujarat Titans (GT) recruit to have an excellent run in IPL 2025.

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"You see Bumrah, who is outstanding, but he is alone" - Aakash Chopra on the competition for Mohammed Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the 2025 Champions Trophy due to a back injury. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that India do not have too many formidable pacers apart from Jasprit Bumrah.

"Secondly, you should look around and see which all players can take your place. Sometimes, there are so many good people that you make a mistake once, and you are out. You don't get a chance to come back. However, when you look around, you see Bumrah, who is outstanding, but he is alone," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Mohammed Siraj can replace any of the other Indian pacers.

"Other than that, Siraj can play in place of Shami, Harshit and Arshdeep. Siraj can fit into any of the available places. After that also, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep, a lot of names are there but there is no one like Bumrah. So for Siraj, I feel there is a strong future ahead of him," Chopra observed.

Siraj has picked up 71 wickets at an economy rate of 5.18 in 43 ODI innings. He might need to work on his skills with the old ball as it was the shortcoming pointed out by Rohit Sharma for his non-inclusion in India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad.