"The people from Mumbai are very strong" - Former Pakistan cricketer alleges lobby in Indian cricket ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali suggested that there has been a lot of politics in Indian cricket, with the Mumbai lobby using their power to promote their players. He pointed out that India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma and the T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav are Mumbai-based players.

Basit highlighted that speedster Jasprit Bumrah appears to be the frontrunner to take over the red-ball captaincy reins from Sharma in the future. While the ace pacer is based out of Ahmedabad, he is an integral part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Suggesting that instead of favoring players from Mumbai, keeper-batter Rishabh Pant should be handed a leadership position. Speaking in his latest YouTube video, Basit said (from 12:44):

"The people from Mumbai are very strong. You see that the captain for Tests and ODIs is Rohit Sharma. For T20Is, it is Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar and Shivam Dube are even going to play the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. If Rohit doesn't go to England for the Test series, whose name was doing the rounds? It was Jasprit Bumrah's. In my opinion, Rishabh Pant should be there."

The Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team completed a stunning 4-1 T20I series win against England at home. Rohit Sharma will return to his captaincy role as the Men in Blue now lock horns with England in a three-match ODI series, beginning Thursday, February 6.

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"He should have been there" - Basit Ali on Mohammed Siraj's absence from India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad

Basit Ali opined that the Indian selectors took the wrong call by overlooking pacer Mohammed Siraj in the 2025 Champions Trophy squad. He stated that the 30-year-old should have made the cut for the ICC event.

The cricketer-turned-commentator remarked that Siraj lost his place in the team despite being praised by head coach Gautam Gambhir during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Basit said in the aforementioned video (from 10:11):

"Gautam Gambhir was praising him a lot in Australia and now he is not even part of the squad. I am surprised. He should have been there."

Basit reckoned that Siraj should be added to India's squad for the last two ODIs of the three-match series against England, considering that there's still uncertainty over Jasprit Bumrah's fitness. He added:

"If India want to pick Siraj for the Champions Trophy, let him and Harshit Rana play together against England. They would get to know then whom to pick. He will get to play two matches if he is added to the squad now."

It is worth mentioning that the Indian selectors are allowed to make changes to their provisional 2025 Champions Trophy squad before February 12.