India vs England: Mohammed Siraj surprises Kuldeep Yadav hilariously by grabbing him by the back of his neck in animated manner

Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav were expected to play in the ongoing first Test against England in Chennai. While Siraj was being widely backed to get a place in the playing eleven after starring in Australia, Kuldeep was also looking set to play the game in absence of Ravindra Jadeja. The India team management, however, sprung a surprise by leaving them both out of the playing eleven.

And it looks like the two are making the most of their time sitting in the dressing room as they were seen sharing a light moment on day one of the Test. The incident took place when the Indian players were making their way into the dressing room after the end of the day’s play. After all the players, who were on the field, entered the room, Mohammed Siraj decided to have some fun with Kuldeep.

In what looked like a friendly and funny incident, the fast bowler was seen grabbing Kuldeep by the back of his neck in an animated manner before telling him something. Kuldeep, on the other hand, was taken by surprise by Siraj’s action but he too joined in the fun as he was seen listening to his teammate patiently.

Here’s the video:

What was that ???😢
Is this real or friendly ??#INDvsENG #Kuldeep #siraj #ChennaiTest pic.twitter.com/Z8pI4H6kV3

— Gaurang Gundaniya (@itsdocGG) February 6, 2021

Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep ignored

Contrary to popular expectations, both Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav were ignored by the Indian team-management for the first Test. India preferred Ishant Sharma as the second fast-bowler and Shahbaz Nadeem as the second spinner in place of Siraj and Kuldeep respectively. The snub must be tough on Siraj who was India’s highest wicket-taker during the Test series in Australia.

The right-arm pacer had picked up 13 wickets and played an integral role in India’s 2-1 series win. Kuldeep, on the other hand, seems to have completely fallen down the pecking order at the moment. The highly-rated spinner has not played a Test since taking a five-wicket haul in the Sydney Test against Australia in January 2019.

As far as the ongoing Test is concerned, England have put themselves on the driver’s seat thanks to a stunning double century from their skipper Joe Root. At the time of compiling this report, the visitors were on 506 for 6 in the 167th over with Jos Buttler and Dom Bess batting in the middle.