Johannesburg [South Africa], January 4 (ANI): Former South African batter AB de Villiers said that pacer Mohammed Siraj is 'one of the unlucky guys to miss out' in the T20 World Cup squad and further added that India has 'all the bases covered' when it comes to their bowling.

AB, who played with Siraj in a few seasons as a part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was speaking on his YouTube Channel. Siraj, who recently made his ODI set-up return for the series against New Zealand in January, is missing from the T20 World Cup squad despite his excellence as a workhorse who simply does not get tired of hitting the deck relentlessly.

Siraj, who has taken 14 wickets so far in 16 T20Is, at an average of 32.28, with a four-fer to his name, last featured in a T20I during July 2024 against Sri Lanka.

Speaking on his Youtube Channel, De Villiers said that while Siraj is 'unlucky', it is 'down to the balance' and the fact that Harshit Rana, one of the pacers alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, can do a bit with the bat too. He also pointed out that the focus is on spinners, with Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy being crucial performers for India in T20Is recently.

'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,' said De Villiers.

The former South African batter pointed out that Harshit does not have a lot of international experience with the new ball, but he along with Bumrah and Arshdeep, could give enough overs as frontline pacers, with Shivam Dube and Hardik filling in with part-time pace.

'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.

Team India is placed in Group A with the USA, Namibia, the Netherlands and Pakistan and will start off against the USA at Mumbai from February 7 onwards.

India's squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and New Zealand T20I series: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk). (ANI)