Latest Cricket News: Team India Pacer Mohammed Siraj Flies Back Home After Being Rested For India Vs West Indies ODI Series

Mohammed Siraj, who was not included in the T20I squad for the Caribbean tour, took seven wickets in the two Tests, including a five-for in the first innings on a flat Port-of-Spain court to spark a batting collapse for West Indies on the fourth morning.

Mohammed Siraj. (Source: Twitter)

Bridgetown: Team India’s star pacer Mohammed Siraj has flown back home after being rested from the three-match ODI series against West Indies, as reported by ESPNcricinfo website. The bowler flew back with the rest of the Test returnees in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat and Navdeep Saini. Siraj was anticipated to lead a pace attack that also includes the all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Mukesh, and Umran Malik while Mohammed Shami remained rested.

However, according to ESPNcricinfo website, the BCCI decided to rest Siraj from the ODI part of the West Indies tour due to his workload. India have the Asia Cup 2023 from the end of August to the middle of September, followed by a three-game home series against Australia in September, during a hectic time leading up to the domestic ODI World Cup 2023 in October.

Siraj, who was not included in the T20I squad for the Caribbean tour, took seven wickets in the two Tests, including a five-for in the first innings on a flat Port-of-Spain court to spark a batting collapse for West Indies on the fourth morning. Siraj’s last ODI was against Australia in March 2022 at home. He finished the series with five wickets, the most for India and the series' second most. Siraj’s 43 ODI wickets since the start of 2022 are the most by an Indian bowler.

Mohammad Siraj in 2023:

_In ODIs - 19 wkts, 13.2 ave, 4.6 Eco.
_In Tests - 13 wickets, 29.6 ave.
_In T20Is - 7 wkts, 15.2 ave, 6.6 Eco.
_In IPL - 19 wkts, 19.7 ave, 7.5 Eco.

One of the best bowler in the world across all formats currently - Phenomenal, Siraj. pic.twitter.com/AHJZ9fTxvH — CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) July 26, 2023

Rohit Sharma doubts if Jasprit Bumrah will return for Ireland T20I matches

India skipper Rohit Sharma is hoping that star pacer Jasprit Bumrah who has been out of action since September last year,  can get enough playing time before the  ODI World Cup in October this year. Jasprit Bumrah has been out of action since September 2022 owing to his injury and missed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. He also missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, a tournament in which he represents Mumbai Indians (MI).

Rohit reiterated Bumrah’s importance and said that they are in constant touch with National Cricket Academy (NCA). “He (Bumrah) has loads of experience and that experience will be crucial for us,” said Rohit. “He is coming back from a long injury and I don’t know whether he will play in the Ireland T20Is. But we will try to give him as much game time as possible before the World Cup,” Rohit said in a pre-match press conference.

“When you’re returning from such a big injury, you don’t have that match practice and match fitness. So the more he plays, the better it is for himself as well as the team. We are in constant touch with the NCA and he looks good at the moment,” the India skipper added.