Aakash Chopra blasts Siraj’s ODI snub after India’s Raipur collapse: ‘When did he become a single-format player?’

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has criticised the selectors for the absence of pacer Mohammed Siraj from the ODI team and making him an all-format bowler as the Men In Blue failed to defend 359 against South Africa in the second ODI at Raipur on Wednesday. Despite Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad hitting centuries and India scoring over 350 runs, South Africa won the match with four balls to spare.

The Proteas levelled the series by scripting the joint-highest chase in ODIs against India as pacer Prasidh Krishna gave away 85 runs in 8.2 overs and Harshit Rana was smashed for 70 runs in 10 overs. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav also proved to be highly expensive with bowling figures of 2/78 in 10 overs.

Aakash Chopra questions Siraj’s absence from ODIs

While fans slammed the lack of control with the wet ball by Indian bowlers, Aakash Chopra wondered why Siraj is missing from the one-dayers.

Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management and Mohammed Shami’s poor fitness have restricted their appearances, but Siraj has no such issues. The 31-year-old pacer was part of the Test team, but is currently playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Hyderabad.

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Siraj was part of the ODIs in Australia last month, but was not picked for the South Africa series. However, as he is playing in domestic cricket, the exclusion clearly wasn’t made to manage his workload. The Hyderabad pacer has also not played in T20Is since July 2024.

Famous broadcaster Aakash Chopra was left puzzled as he could not “wrap his head” around Siraj missing from white-ball matches and being relegated to just Test cricket by the BCCI selectors.

“Can you understand what is happening with Mohammed Siraj? I cannot understand at all. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that he has become a one-format player,” Chopra said on X. “And when did this happen? When he plays Test cricket, we are so effusive of him for his passion, commitment and wicket-taking abilities.

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“But how did he vanish from ODI cricket?” Aakash asked. “He is playing domestic cricket currently. When he was not picked for the Champions Trophy, we were a little disappointed because two years prior to that, he was the highest wicket-taker for India in that format (ODIs).

“Then suddenly his name is missing. And it’s still missing. Others are playing – Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, but Mohammed Siraj is nowhere to be seen. He is not in ODIs, absent from T20Is. Why did this happen? Personally, I don’t know. When did he become a single-format player?”

The selectors have not offered any official explanation, but dropping Siraj from the ODIs could be part of a strategy to build a stronger bench by giving less-experienced players exposure against top teams. However, relying on three inexperienced pacers — Arshdeep Singh, Rana and Prasidh — makes the move feel overly risky if that is indeed the plan.