A significant point which came out from India’s squads for the ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy was the exclusion of pacer Mohammed Siraj, with captain Rohit Sharma saying his effectiveness goes down by a little bit when not handed the new ball. Rohit also said that Siraj, who has 71 ODI wickets against his name in 44 games, including picking a remarkable six-fer in the 2023 Asia Cup final, was not locked in for a certain role in the team, especially with question marks still around Jasprit Bumrah’s availability.
In place of Siraj, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has earned a spot after becoming the highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He joins the fast-bowling department for the twin 50-over assignments alongside Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya.
“That’s purely because we thought over it. We are not sure about Bumrah, whether he is going to play or not. So, we thought of wanting someone who can bowl with the new ball and at the backend. So we picked Arshdeep to bowl at the backend. Shami, we all saw what he can do with the new ball.”
“That is where we feel that Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit when he is not bowling with the new ball. We discussed it at length about it, as we are only taking three seamers there because we wanted all these all-rounders with us. It’s an unfortunate thing that he has to miss out.”
“But we had no option but to get the guys who can perform a certain role. I personally feel we have guys who can bowl with the new ball, be effective in the middle, and at the back end, as well as cover all facets of the game. With these three bowlers, we think we can do that,” said Rohit in the press conference in Mumbai after the squad announcement.
In eight ODIs, Arshdeep has picked 20 wickets and brings in the variety via his left-arm angles and variations. For the England ODI series, India have also got seam-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana, with Rohit equating his inclusion with that of young left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“Arshdeep hasn’t played a lot of ODIs, but he has been around the white-ball circuit for a long time. I don’t think I feel comfortable saying he is not experienced. He has bowled some tough overs, played T20Is and can handle that pressure. Shami is a stalwart in white-ball cricket, and what he did in the World Cup was superb to watch.”
“With Harshit, we needed something different. He has shown he has got the potential. So, we need to back him. It’s very hard to ignore numbers, but look at Jaiswal. We picked him based on what he has done in the last 6–8 months. He has not played a single ODI game, but we still picked him because he has shown potential.”
“Sometimes, we need to do that, and in that, some players will miss out, which is very unlucky and unfortunate. If you talk about everyone, we can’t please everyone. Yes, it’s a tough call, but we needed to take it, as at the end of the day, you try and make the best team, and the best possible squad to win games under different situations,” added Rohit.
Shami is back in the 50-over set-up after last featuring in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he picked 24 wickets to become the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. An Achilles injury needing surgery kept him out of action for nearly a year, before making a competitive comeback in the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy in Indore last year.
Though Shami missed out on the Test series in Australia due to knee swelling, he has been picked for the five T20Is against England, starting on January 22 in Kolkata. “We don’t have to speak about the quality that he brings. To get him involved in T20Is was precisely that – just to get him back into international cricket and play under pressure a little bit even though it’s 20-over cricket,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
“You have to be at high intensity and just to get him up to pace before the ODIs start. I mean, he has got obvious quality. So if he was fit, he was always going to be part of the discussion. We are hoping that he comes through these games. By the time the Champions Trophy comes around, he is at 100 per cent,” he added.
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