Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra called for Mohammed Siraj’s inclusion in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. Star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah is still dealing with a back injury and there’s a probability of him missing the tournament. Senior pacer Mohammed Shami too returned very recently and for the same reason, Chopra backed Siraj, who now has experience of playing crucial games in national colours.
He noted that the batting unit looks sorted with Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma at the top of the order, followed by Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer at three and four. Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja can fill the remaining batting slots and then, a spinner and two pacers. In case Bumrah doesn’t recover on time, he feels Siraj should be given the opportunity and added that the pacer should replace Yashasvi Jaiswal in the squad.
Jaiswal, who made his debut in the first ODI against England, was dropped from the second match in Cuttack as Kohli returned to the playing XI and Iyer proved his value at number four. Chopra feels that the Rohit-led side will not make changes to the batting unit and thus, Jaiswal may not feature in the Champions Trophy. Hence, he feels that India backing Siraj for the tournament would make more sense.
“The batting order is looking set. Rohit has started scoring runs. Shubman Gill is our vice-captain, and he is in good form. Virat Kohli will eventually return to form. Even if he doesn’t, god forbid, India are not going to drop him. Shreyas Iyer is at No. 4. At No. 5, whether it’s KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, or Axar Patel, the slot is settled. One of the two—Rahul and Pant—will have to be left out. And then you have an extra batter,” Chopra said on his YouTube show.
“You might not require Yashasvi Jaiswal. That’s a possibility. You wanted to maintain a left-right, left-right combination in the batting order. Now, you won’t be able to do it. You have played your hand, and that has backfired," he added.
Meanwhile, Bumrah is reportedly training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru to get back to his full fitness. A decision on his availability will be taking place before India travel to UAE for the tournament.