Mohammed Siraj may play for Hyderabad in Ranji Trophy game against Vidarbha

In the Elite Group B table of the Ranji Trophy, Hyderabad are at sixth place with nine points from five matches

Hyderabad: Mohammed Siraj, after missing out on India squad for Champions Trophy and ODIs against England, is likely to play for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy game against Vidarbha on January 30, according to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA).

In the Elite Group B table of the Ranji Trophy, Hyderabad are placed sixth with nine points from five matches. They will resume their Ranji Trophy campaign against second-ranked Himachal Pradesh at home on January 23.

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Jagan Mohan Rao, the president of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), said that there’s likely chance of Siraj playing the next Ranji Trophy game for Hyderabad, where they will be up against table-toppers Vidarbha, starting January 30 in Nagpur.

In ODI matches from 2022 to 2024, Siraj has picked 71 wickets at an average of just 22.97, the most by an Indian pacer in this period. In his place, the BCCI drafted left-arm fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh, alongside Jasprit Bumrah (subject to fitness), Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana (included only for England ODIs). On the Hyderabadi’s omission from the squad, captain Rohit Sharma said he was a good opening pace bowler but was found wanting during the death overs.

Siraj had recently picked 20 wickets at an average of 31.15 across all five Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

As of now, the upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy will see Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra), Rishabh Pant (Delhi), Shubman Gill (Punjab), Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal (both Mumbai) turn out for their respective State teams, while KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are out due to varied niggles. The array of Indian players making themselves available for the Ranji Trophy comes after the BCCI apparently introduced a 10-point policy document making participation in domestic cricket mandatory, and non-compliance could impact international selection and central contract renewals.