T20 World Cup 2022: Mohammed Siraj lands in Australia as part of stand-by squad for team India

Team India has been handed a major boost ahead of the T20 World Cup warm-ups as pacer Mohammed Siraj has landed in Brisbane as a part of the stand-by players.

The speedster was added in the stand-by list by the management owing to the back injury endured by Jasprit Bumrah. Moreover, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially confirmed Mohammed Shami’s inclusion in the squad as a like-for-like replacement to Bumrah.

This meant that the Rohit Sharma-led side could have another player in the list of stand-by players for the squad. Earlier, BCCI also had added Shardul Thakur to the list following travelling reserve Deepak Chahar suffered an injury during the T20I series against South Africa. The player sustained stiffness in his back in the final T20I against South Africa earlier this month in October.

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Following impressive spells against South Africa in the recent T20I series, the pace spearhead was one among the favourites to replace injured Bumrah. However, the management decided to opt for Shami considering his vast experience in the crucial matches and added in form Siraj in the standby squad.

Siraj landed in Brisbane on Sunday morning and is set to join the reserve squad and will be joined by fellow teammate Shardul Thakur. Rohit Sharma and Co. are currently riding high following the successive series win against South Africa and Australia in the shortest format.

Now, the Men in Blue will kick start their campaign on Sunday, October 23 against arch-rivals Pakistan who are coming off from a Tri-series win against Bangladesh and New Zealand. However, the side will also play the warm-up matches starting with Australia to get accustomed to the Australian playing conditions before heading to the regular group stage matches.

While the matches come thick and fast, team India will look to maintain consistency and deliver in the crunch moments of the game in order to compete for the prestigious title down under.