'Waste of talent' - Twitter erupts as Mohammed Siraj gets benched again in 2nd Test against SL
Siraj last played Test during the South Africa series.
Team India locked horns with Sri Lanka in the second Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Skipper Rohit Sharma, after winning the toss, has decided to bat first. The home-side has made just one change in their squad replacing Jayant Yadav in form of Axar Patel. However, there were speculations that pacer Mohammed Siraj could be picked ahead of Axar in the Pink ball Test match.
The selectors would have been thinking to include Mohammed Siraj in the playing XI as the pacer holds a ton of experience on the Chinnaswamy wicket while playing for franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League. However, that was not the case, as team India went with the option of Axar Patel who bats brilliantly lower down the order along with bowling tight spin.
Siraj played his last Test Match against South Africa in January
Siraj played his last Test match against South Africa at the Wanderers Cricket Stadium, Johannesburg earlier this year in January 2022. However, the right-arm pacer was not able to pick a single wicket in both innings. The 27-year-old pacer bowled 9.5 overs and gave 24 runs in the first inning. He was quite expensive as per the standards of the longest format of the game giving away 37 runs in six overs he bowled during the second inning.
It is to be noted that India lost that series against the Proteas with a margin of 2-1. That series was also the last assignment for Virat Kohli as India’s Test skipper after which he stepped down from his post. A few months later Rohit Sharma was named as India’s longest format skipper. Before that, he had already been appointed as the men in blue captain in limited-over formats.
Talking about Siraj’s number in Test format, the right-arm pacer has scalped a total of 36 wickets in 12 Test matches he has represented India. The 27-year old also has one five-wicket haul under his belt.
Meanwhile, here are some Twitter reactions on Siraj being benched for the second Test:
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