The Champions Trophy squad has been announced. Captain Rohit Sharma along with Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar announced the 15-member team for the tournament. Rohit has not given place to Mohammad Siraj in this team. That means he has been dropped from the Champions Trophy. The Indian captain has surprised everyone with his decision, because Siraj's pace attack has been an important part of the team in recent times. He also showed his talent in the 2023 ODI World Cup and Asia Cup. Now the question is whether Rohit has lost trust in Siraj? He himself has answered this question.

Why did Rohit exclude Siraj?

After Siraj was dropped from the team, he was immediately asked the reason in the press conference. Regarding dropping Siraj, he said that he wanted to take such bowlers to the tournament, who can show their impact with both new and old balls. Rohit believes that Siraj is a bowler of the new ball and his effect is reduced with the old ball. It may cause loss in Dubai. On the other hand, Mohammed Shami has shown his talent in the ODI World Cup. He is adept at bowling all types of balls.

Arshdeep Singh has also shown the art of swing in the initial overs and vicious bowling in the death overs. He bowled brilliantly in the T20 World Cup and is in excellent form. Apart from this, Jasprit Bumrah has been kept as the third pacer. However, at present he is a victim of injury and can be replaced by Harshit Rana later.

According to Rohit, there was space for three pacers in the team and Siraj was not able to fit into the options available with them. Therefore, Harshit Rana was included in his place as a replacement. Rana bowls a little differently and can prove to be more effective in Dubai. However, the Indian captain admitted that his exclusion was unfortunate. But due to the combination of the team, his place could not be made.

Siraj out despite great performance

Mohammad Siraj has performed well for the Indian team in ODIs during the last two-three years. Siraj is the second fast bowler to take the most wickets in the 50 over format since the year 2022. He has the most wickets in his name after Pakistani fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (83). He has taken 71 wickets in his name at an average of 22.9.

Talking about his recent performance, he took 14 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 33.50 in the 2023 ODI World Cup. In the 2023 Asia Cup, he took 10 wickets in 4 innings of 5 matches at an average of 12.20 and was the second highest wicket taker in the tournament. He also bowled a match winning spell of 6 wickets in the final.