“A better bowler..” - Aakash Chopra backs Mohammed Siraj to be back in ODI setup

Mohammed Siraj was left out from the Asia cup 2025 squad. He is not the regular bowling option in the T20 internationals. He is the key aspect for the Indian team in Tests as well as ODIs, but as the Asia cup 2025 squad was out, and Siraj’s name was missing from the list people started speculating whether is it the end of Siraj in T20Is and ODIs as well.

But former Indian cricketer, Akash Chopra has given his view on Mohammed Siraj’e future in the white ball cricket. Chopra asserted that Siraj would be a viable option for the Indian team in the ODIs. He further stated that Harshit Rana, who has been picked in the Asia cup 2025 squad might not be the regular option for the Indian team and he might not feature in the playing 11. He reasoned the same and said that Siraj might as well be back in the ODI set up.

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"No, Siraj will be played in ODIs as well. He will have to wait a little in T20Is. Harshit Rana isn't a better bowler, because if that had been the case, he would've played in the XI in all three formats. The guy sits outside. I won't say he's a better bowler than Siraj or that his records are better than Siraj's. At this point in time, it seems like things go in his favor slightly every now and then, but Siraj is a better bowler. If one does man-to-man marking, of course, Siraj is better,” stated Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.

India squad for Asia Cup 2025:

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh