A key point that emerged 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 drops a bit if he doesn't get the new ball. Rohit also said that Siraj, who has 71 ODI wickets to his name in 44 matches, including picking a remarkable six-fer in the 2023 Asia Cup final, was not locked in for any particular role in the team , especially with the question marks that still remain. Availability of Jasprit Bumrah.
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 dual 50-plus assignments alongside Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya.
“Purely because we have thought about it. We are not sure whether Bumrah will play or not. So we thought about wanting someone who can bowl with the new ball and at the back end. So we picked Arshdeep to bowl at the backend. Shami, we have all seen what he can do with the new ball.”
“That's where we feel Siraj's effectiveness drops a little bit when he's not bowling with the new ball. We've talked about it at length because we're only taking three seamers there because we wanted all these all-rounders with us It's a shame he has to miss this.”
“But we had no choice but to bring in the guys who can fill a certain role. Personally, I feel we have guys who can bowl with the new ball, be effective in the middle and back end, and cover all facets of the game. With these three bowlers, we believe we can do that,” Rohit said at the press conference in Mumbai after the squad announcement.
In eight ODIs, Arshdeep has picked 20 wickets and is bringing in the variety through his left-arm angles and variations. For the England ODI series, India also has all-rounder Harshit Rana, with Rohit equating his participation with that of young left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“Arshdeep has not played many ODIs but he has been in the white-ball circuit for a long time. I don't think I feel comfortable saying he has no experience. He has bowled some tough overs, played T20Is and can handle that pressure. Shami is a huge supporter of white-ball cricket and what he did in the World Cup was great to see.”
“With Harshit we needed something different. He has shown that he has the potential. So we have to support him. It is very difficult to ignore numbers, but look at Jaiswal. We picked him based on what he's done in the last six to eight months. He hasn't played a single ODI game yet but we picked him because he has shown potential.”
“Sometimes we have to do that and in doing so some players will miss something, which is very unfortunate and unfortunate. If you talk about everyone, we can't please everyone. Yes, it is a tough task but we had to take it because at the end of the day you try to build the best team and squad possible to win matches in different situations,” Rohit added.
Shami is back in the 50-over line-up after his last outing in the 2023 ODI World Cup where he picked 24 wickets to become the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. An Achilles injury requiring surgery kept him out of action for almost a year before he made a competitive comeback in the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy in Indore last year.
Although Shami missed the Test series in Australia due to swelling in his knee, he has been selected for the five T20Is against England, starting on January 22 in Calcutta. “We don't need to talk about the quality he brings. Involving him in T20Is was just that, getting him back into international cricket and playing a bit under pressure even if it is 20-over cricket,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
“You have to be at high intensity and just get him up to pace before the ODIs start. I mean, he has obvious quality. So if he was fit he would always be part of the discussion. We hope he gets through these games. By the time the Champions Trophy comes, he will be at 100 percent,” he added.
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