Mohammed Siraj marked his return to India's ODI team as Ajit Agarkar and co. announced their squad for the upcoming tour of Australia, where the teams will play three ODIs.
This is the first since August 7, 2024, that Siraj will be back in the squad for the ODIs after he faced a snub for the England series and the ICC Champions Trophy earlier in 2025.
In Jasprit Bumrah's absence, India opted to go with a spin-heavy bowling attack, consisting of Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, while Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana were the frontline pacers.
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Speaking of his snub, the pacer has opened up on his chat with then captain Rohit Sharma and what the communication was between them.
Mohammed Siraj reveals his chat with Rohit Sharma after Champions Trophy snub
During his recent conversation with Express Sports, Siraj said the hot and humid Dubai conditions suited the spinners, as the reason given to him, while he was asked to stay fit and ready for the upcoming games.
During the tournament, Varun Chakravarthy and Mohammed Shami were India's best bowlers with 9 wickets each in 3 and 5 matches, respectively. Kuldeep Yadav also picked 7 matches in the tournament.
"I’m 200 per cent confident of doing well in all three formats when given a chance. We played the Champions Trophy in Dubai, there was heat, and we needed more spinners there, that’s why I wasn’t picked. Rohit bhai told me that most of the bowling would be done by spinners and he didn’t want me to go there and just sit on the bench," Siraj revealed to the Indian Express.
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"He told me to spend time with family, practise, and work on my fitness. The Asia Cup was right after we had returned from the five Tests in England, so it was an opportunity to rest a bit," the bowler added.
Siraj went on to have a good IPL season with the Gujarat Titans, picking 16 wickets in 15 matches with best figures of 4/17, before he used his added motivation in the England Test series, finishing as the highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets in 5 matches.
How has Mohammed Siraj performed since Champions Trophy?
| Series | Format | Innings | Wickets | Avg/SR | Economy | Best Figures | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL 2025 | T20 | 15 | 16 | 32.93/21.37 | 9.24 | 4/17 | 0 |
| India tour of England 2025 | Test | 9 | 23 | 32.43/48.39 | 4.02 | 6/70 | 2 |
| West Indies tour of India 2025 | Test | 2 | 7 | 10.14/21.42 | 2.84 | 4/40 | 0 |