Shocking Decision: India's Key Bowler Sent Home!
Mohammed Siraj. While the ODI series against West Indies will start on Thursday, he was sent to India.
He has been the main bowler for the Indian team for the last two years. In ODIs, he claimed 43 wickets in one and a half years. No other bowler even a spinner got these many wickets. In the absence of another key bowler, he is making sure that the team would not face any issues. Experts believe that he would be a key player in the upcoming World Cup. However, he was pulled out of the West Indies ODI series suddenly. Interestingly, this was made ahead of the ODI match.
What Happened?
We are discussing team India's key bowler Mohammed Siraj. While the ODI series against West Indies will start on Thursday, he was sent to India. He was the man of the match in the second test with five wickets which was drawn. With Mohammed Shami's rest and Jasprit Bumrah's injury, he became the key bowler. He reached the expectations. When everyone predicted that he would produce a similar performance in the ODI series, the BCCI surprised many and sent him to India.
Knee Injury.Work Burden:
Compared to Tests, West Indies is very strong in the ODIs. We cannot take the team lightly as it was disqualified from the World Cup. Moreover, it is playing at home. There is already a work burden on Siraj. He is playing Tests, ODIs, and T20s without any breaks. On top of this, he is also playing IPL. As knee pain was detected, he was sent to India. He would come to India along with Ashwin, Rahane, Bharat, and Navdeep Saini who are not part of the ODI and T20 teams.
Shardul Is the Senior Now:
In the absence of the seniors in the team, pace all-rounder Shardul Thakur would lead the pace attack. He will be supported by vice-captain Hardik Pandya. Shardul claimed 50 wickets in 35 matches. There are three other pacers-Kashmir Speed Gun Umran Malik, Jaydev Unadkat, and new face Mukesh Kumar. Among the three, Mukesh did not play a single ODI.
Despite the West Indies playing at home, the BCCI might have felt that there would be no issue even if Siraj was there as no other pacer was sent to West Indies.