Ian Bishop, a former cricket player for the West Indies, claimed that since his outstanding 2025 Champions Trophy campaign for Team India, Mohammad Shami has not played at the same level. In his first five games with his new team, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), in the current 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the seasoned bowler has taken five wickets.
In the 2025 Champions Trophy, Shami led Team India’s fast bowling squad after a protracted injury layoff. Mohammed Siraj had not been taken into consideration by the selection committee, which had instead accelerated Harshit Rana.
In his previous team, the Gujarat Titans (GT), Siraj has assumed Shami’s position as captain and is now tied for the most wickets taken by seamers this season. In their most recent match in Hyderabad, where GT trounced SRH by seven wickets, the right-arm pacer overpowered Shami.
According to Ian Bishop, Siraj’s recent form and age have caused him to overtake Shami in the Team India fast bowling hierarchy.
“Since Shami got that five-wicket haul in the Champions Trophy, I don’t think we have seen that Shami again since then. He’s 34, nearly 35. It was two seasons ago that Siraj got ten wickets in the powerplay for RCB, and only five last year, so his powerplay bowling had dropped off a bit. But, he looks better now. If he continues to hit that lengths he is bowling, and uses the seam, he looks, right now, as if he has jumped ahead of Mohammed Shami,” Bishop said on ESPN Cricinfo.
“If Siraj continues bowling like he has done in the last two games, I think he offers slightly more across phases. Whereas, Shami, is a little bit more orthodox.”
Ian Bishop
At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Siraj’s 4-17 run that cut SRH to barely 152-8 earned him the title of player of the match. The right-arm pacer had previously recorded figures of 3-19 against his old team, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), prior to his spectacular performance on his home field.
“I couldn’t digest it” – Mohammed Siraj on his exclusion from Team India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad
Siraj was the top-ranked ODI bowler not long ago, however he was not selected for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The pacer participated in the Sri Lankan visit following the 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, taking three wickets in the 0–2 series defeat.
Since there were serious concerns about Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness, Siraj’s inclusion in the squad for the ICC event was anticipated. But Team India chose Harshit Rana, believing that Hardik Pandya would also contribute with his medium pace.
“I couldn’t digest it, but then I explained to myself that things would change. I worked on my mistakes and realised them. So I am enjoying it now. As a professional, when you are with the side, there is doubt when you aren’t selected, but then I thought to move on from that and do well with the ball. When you are able to execute what you want to do, there is a different feeling as a bowler, and it is a lot of fun,” Siraj said during the post-match presentation.
On Wednesday, April 9, GT will play the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
