Why did Mohammed Siraj get dropped from India's Champions Trophy squad? EXPLAINED

In what proves to be a shocking decision, Mohammed Siraj has been dropped from Team India's ODI squad for Champions Trophy 2025 and Arshdeep Singh has replaced him in the team

The Indian Cricket Team's squad for the forthcoming mega event of this year i.e Champions Trophy 2025 recently got announced in a press conference held under the presence of skipper Rohit Sharma and Selection Committee Chief Ajit Agarkar. 

Rohit Sharma will be seen handling the leadership duties of the team once again while Shubman Gill has been elected as his deputy for the forthcoming tournament. 

The 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy is scheduled to begin from the 19th of February in Pakistan but Team India will be playing all of their matches in the city of Dubai as per the Hybrid-Model system. The 2013 Champions Trophy winners will kick off their campaign in the competition with the Group-A contest versus Asian Rivals Bangladesh on the 20th of February. 

While everything about the 15-player squad of Team India looks perfect, there's one point which is very shocking. Elite Seamer Mohammed Siraj's name is not there in the squad and he has been dropped from the team ahead of the Champions Trophy. 

Siraj has played an important role in helping the Men in Blue win many important games in the 50 over format, including his phenomenal spell in the Asia Cup final where he single handedly destroyed the entire batting unit of Sri Lanka. 

But, he has still been dropped from the ODI Team and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh has replaced him in the squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 event. 

What's the reason behind the omission of Mohammed Siraj from the Champions Trophy squad? 

Captain Rohit Sharma explained the omission of Mohammed Siraj from the Indian team for the Champions Trophy. In the squad announcement press conference, he said that it was unfortunate that Siraj had to be omitted.

"It's very unfortunate that he (Siraj) had to be dropped from the team. It is a fact that Siraj cannot excel with the old ball. He is not being used with the new ball now. Therefore, Siraj was dropped because there was no other option. Bowlers who can bowl in the new ball, middle overs and death overs were considered for the team", Rohit clarified.

Mohammed Siraj, who took 24 wickets in ODIs at an average of 23.4 in 2022, was in brilliant form in 2023, taking 44 wickets at an average of 20.6. The 29-year-old also reached the top of the ODI bowling rankings with his performance of six wickets for just 21 runs against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final. However, last year, when India played only six ODIs, Siraj took only three wickets.

The right arm pacer is currently ranked eighth in the ODI Bowling Rankings. The 30-year-old is also the last Indian bowler to reach the prestigious the top rank in the One-Day International rankings. But, his form has been hampered by a lackluster display last year and a disappointing BGT series in Australia. 

Mohammed Shami's highly anticipated return from injury and Jasprit Bumrah being the main seamer has also put Siraj's spot in the team in danger. Arshdeep Singh has been in phenomenal form with the ball in T20 Internationals since 2024 and him being a left arm seamer gives him more advantage over the former RCB seamer, which is the reason why Siraj has been dropped from the team ahead of Champions Trophy.

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