Former India batsman Aakash Chopra believes Mohammed Siraj was unfairly labeled a one-format specialist at the start of his international career, insisting that the fast bowler has repeatedly shown that he can be effective in all formats.Siraj’s impressive performances in franchise cricket for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and later Gujarat Titans helped him get back into India’s white-ball plans. The right-arm pacer has been included in India’s 2026 World T20 squad and has made an immediate impact whenever he has been given the opportunity. Speaking in a video shared on X, Chopra said the perception around Siraj was formed too quickly and did not accurately reflect his capabilities.“Bahut jaldi humne unko one-format player bana ke choad diya (We quickly made him a one-format player). It was decided too early that he could not play with the older ball and should be dropped. He was out of favor for a long time, but his fortunes changed and he was selected for the T20 World Cup, where he took three wickets in his first match, and now he is back in the T20 fray,” said Chopra.The former opener also questioned some of the decisions made regarding Siraj’s place in India’s white-ball line-up over the past few years. Chopra felt that the pacer was being treated harshly despite regularly shouldering responsibilities in the Test side.“There was a period when I honestly felt it wasn’t right. You played him in all the Tests, where everybody needs workload management, but you didn’t think about him. Then, suddenly one day, you said he was no longer part of the ODI team and then he was removed from the T20Is as well; that wasn’t right,” Chopra said.Chopra was particularly critical of Siraj’s omission from India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad. While he admitted that there could be debate over Siraj’s place in the T20I line-up, he maintained that the fast bowler has done enough to warrant a place in the ODI side.“He was not in the Champions Trophy team. I thought that was incorrect. His name should have been there. Maybe you can still understand for T20Is, but his name should be there in ODIs,” he added.Siraj was recently rested for India’s ODI series against Afghanistan and Prasidh Krishna was named as his replacement. However, Chopra’s comments underline the belief that the Hyderabad pacer remains a valuable asset in India’s white-ball plans and deserves greater recognition for his performances outside the Test arena.
