Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the event is subject to fitness, and hence, he will not feature in the first two ODIs against England. However, the management expects the premier India pacer to be available for the third and final ODI.

In Bumrah’s place, Harshit Rana will be in the squad for the first two ODIs against England. Aakash Chopra feels that this clearly shows that even Harshit Rana has raced ahead of Siraj in the pecking order for ODIs.

“No one knows about Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness. No one knows about Mohammed Shami’s fitness. Maybe he is fit, but no one knows how his form is going to be. Arshdeep has been named in the squad, and there is no place for Mohammed Siraj,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“He hasn’t done so much wrong that he is not even featured in the squad. I feel for DSP. Siraj, I am feeling for you. Siraj could have been picked. There could have been one lesser spinner. Harshit Rana is also ahead in the ODI queue ahead of Siraj, which is very surprising,” he added.

It is important to state that Siraj has a good record in ODIs, picking 71 wickets in 44 matches. He was also a part of India’s 2023 World Cup campaign, where Rohit Sharma and co managed to reach the final.

‘Played your hand’

Aakash Chopra also feels that the Indian think tank has shown everybody its game plan for the upcoming tournament by picking four spinners.

“There are just three fast bowlers, and that is big news for me. When you pick three pacers, you will only play 2 fast bowlers. If you wanted to play three seamers, you would have picked four in your squad,” said Chopra.

“It means that you have decided to play three spinners. You have played your hand before anything has even started,” he added.

The four spinners picked in India’s squad are Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja.

India are in Group A alongside Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma and co will open their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.