Published on: Jan 04, 2026 09:09 pm IST
Speaking on India’s T20 World Cup squad, AB de Villiers had special words for a player, who missed out on the team.
Mohammed Siraj was a shocking exclusion from India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad. Siraj last played in a T20I for India in July 2024 vs Sri Lanka. The pacer has taken 14 wickets in 16 T20Is at an average of 32.28, and also has a four-wicket haul. Reacting to Siraj’s omission, cricket legend AB De Villiers called it ‘unlucky’, but also feels that India has picked a well-balanced bowling department for the tournament.
De Villiers and Siraj are former IPL teams, when the pair played for RCB. Siraj did make his comeback to the setup for the New Zealand series in January, but he will be disappointed to miss out on the T20 World Cup squad.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers said, “We see Siraj in the ODI squad, he is one of the unlucky guys to miss out. But that is once again down to the balance. You have got Bumrah and Arshdeep. Harshit can hold the bat as well. So there are your three seamers. I think that is the reason why you went for Harshit because Siraj is only an outright bowler, and they do not want to focus too much on seam bowling. The focus is on the spinners. If they get wickets with the seamers upfront, they almost see it as a bonus in a way. So Siraj is unlucky but at least he is in the ODI plans moving forward for the 2027 World Cup.”
Analysing the pacers picked for India’s T20 World Cup squad (Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana), De Villiers pointed out that even Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya are there as all-rounders, who can bowl.
“The problem with Harshit Rana with the new ball is that he doesn’t have a lot of experience at the international level. But if he can give you a few overs with Bumrah and Arshdeep, there is enough overs, and then Shivam and Hardik can fill up. They also cover all bases with spin, and that’s where they will focus on trying to win games,” he said.
“When Bumrah has a quiet night, a Kuldeep comes through and gets you four and vice versa. Then there is Hardik coming through in the middle and turning the momentum around. Those are the kind of championship teams you want, and India has got all those bases covered,” he added.
