Is India missing Siraj in the UAE World Cup?

Hyderabad: Even as the famed Indian batting has been a big letdown in the first two matches of the World Cup, the bowling too has come under scanner as they have taken only two wickets from two matches. The Indian pace attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Shardul Thakur has looked ordinary. The question […]

Hyderabad: Even as the famed Indian batting has been a big letdown in the first two matches of the World Cup, the bowling too has come under scanner as they have taken only two wickets from two matches.

The Indian pace attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Shardul Thakur has looked ordinary. The question arises: did India miss someone like Hyderabad’s Mohammed Siraj, who had the pace and swing to trouble the batsmen?
Former Hyderabad opener Vijay Mohan Raj said definitely so. “India needed a bowler like Siraj. We missed a bowler who could bowl fast. Whatever you have seen from other teams, especially Shaheen Afridi, India missed a trick or two here. Siraj would have made the difference,” he said.

Siraj is presently representing Hyderabad in the T20 Mushtaq Ali tournament, which will be underway from November 4.

Even former Pakistan opener Salman Butt felt that Indian selectors made a mistake by not naming a genuine pacer in the T20 World Cup squad.

Siraj, who has grown in stature, had also a very good outing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. “I think India didn’t select their best combination. How can you not select a player with the best economy rate in the IPL? And the fastest bowling speed in terms of the England series? Yes, Siraj. Then you have many fast bowlers,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.

“There should have been some surprising pace element in the team. When the opposition knows that there’s no bowler who can bowl over 145kph, or threaten with bouncers and yorkers then your bowling can’t create the wicket-taking impact. You are not going to make people think twice before they attack you because the pace isn’t there,” he added.

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