Former India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik made a huge statement on Mohammed Siraj, who has been dropped from the 2025 Champions Trophy squad.
The Indian pacer, who has 71 wickets from 44 ODIs in his career so far, was snubbed as he failed to make the cut for the ICC event. Siraj has been a consistent performer in ODIs since 2023 and also reached the top position in the ICC ODI bowler's rankings.
While his exclusion from the Champions Trophy squad has sparked considerable debate, Dinesh Karthik believes that it is a fair call by the management.
“I think it’s sad but fair. Who have they gone for? Bumrah, Shami, and Arshdeep, who has been phenomenal in white-ball cricket," Karthik said on Cricbuzz (Via News18).
However, Karthik added that Siraj would be hurt by the fact that India picked Harshit Rana over him for the first two matches of the bilateral series against England at home. He stuck to his claim though that from the Champions Trophy perspective, it is still a fair call.
"But what would hurt him, I feel, is the fact that Harshit Rana has been picked ahead of him in the first couple of matches in the bilateral against England. Now, this is where Siraj will look and say, Look, I think I deserve better than that, and I am going to do better than that because he has got the skills. But for the moment, for the Champions Trophy, I think it’s a fair decision on Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma’s part," Karthik added.
Harshit Rana added to India's squad for the ODI series against England over Siraj
India won the first T20I of the five-match series against England by seven wickets. Following the T20I series, the two teams will also contest a three-match ODI series.
Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah will miss the first two games due to his injury and workload management. In his place, young Harshit Rana was named in the squad for the first two games.
Harshit made his international debut in the first Test at Perth during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. While Mohammed Siraj has been left out of the Champions Trophy squad, he has not been considered for the bilateral series either, with a youngster being included instead.
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