Ahead of the upcoming three-game ODI series against the West Indies, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) has decided not to include Mohammed Siraj in India’s team. The reason behind this choice is that Siraj’s ankle is hurting, and they want to be careful to prevent any more harm. The BCCI medical experts advised him to take a break for a bit.
Even though Siraj won’t be playing, the other members of the Test squad, like Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat, Navdeep Saini, and Ajinkya Rahane, have returned home after a successful two-game Test series in which India won 1-0.
Now, with Siraj out of the picture, India’s choices for fast bowlers in the ODI series are a bit limited in terms of experience. We have four bowlers to choose from: Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Umran Malik, and Mukesh Kumar. Among them, Shardul Thakur has played the most ODIs (35), while Mukesh Kumar hasn’t yet had a chance to play in 50-over international matches.
Mohammed Siraj won’t just be missing the ODI series, but he also won’t be part of the T20I squad against the West Indies. Once the ODI series is done, India will be participating in five T20 international matches.
Looking ahead, India has some important tournaments on the horizon. There’s the Asia Cup scheduled for August-September, followed by the ODI World Cup which will be held at home in October-November.