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Mohammed Siraj and Gautam Gambhir in frame | PC- AFP
Mohammed Siraj is leading India's pace attack in the Test series against Sri Lanka in the absence of the ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Playing as the lead pacer in the IND vs SL 1st Test at Galle, he has been accused of playing through an injury.
The Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir-led team management decided to field just two seamers, Siraj and Prasidh Krishna in the ongoing match, along with three-spinner attack, comprising Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Kuldeep Yadav.
Although pace, like usual, hasn't had much to contribute in Galle, Siraj has been to provide maiden breakthroughs to India in both innings.
Dodda Ganesh claims Mohammed Siraj playing through niggle in IND vs SL 1st
Dodda Ganesh, who has featured in 4 Tests and a solitary ODI for India, has blamed the Gautam Gambhir-led team management for playing Mohammed Siraj through a niggle.
According to the Karnataka veteran, the Indian speedster is not going all throttle, as he pace is down in the IND vs SL 1st Test.
"Is Siraj carrying a niggle? This isn’t the pace he usually bowls," Dodda Ganesh questioned via his X handle.
Notably, Siraj bowled just three overs in the first session of Day 5, with the speedster's fastest delivery on the day clocking 132.8 kmph. At the same time, the trend remained constant throughout the Test match, as his pace averaged around 126 clicks.
Mohammed Siraj's alleged niggle bring BCCI, CoE under scanner
Without Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj becomes the default go-to man for India in the longest format. That said, the 32-year-old has been put on the back burner in the white-ball formats, despite his superb numbers in ODIs.
Although he replaced Harshit Rana during the 2026 T20 World Cup, Siraj was absent from the white-ball series against Afghanistan, Ireland and England.
Despite his workload being managed suitably, Dodda Ganesh’s claims about the speedster’s niggle bring the BCCI medical team and the Centre of Excellence (CoE) under the scanner, yet again.
It is worth noting that Siraj spent a good amount of time at the CoE just before the Sri Lanka tour.
Can India afford to bench Mohammed Siraj in IND vs SL 2nd Test?
Mohammed Siraj may have opened the bowling in both innings, but it has been the spin twin of Ravindra Jadeja, Manav and Kuldeep Yadav doing the major lifting against Sri Lanka at Galle.
As India have the luxury of five bowling options in the IND vs SL 1st Test, both Siraj and Prasidh Krishna weren’t asked to bowl like workhorses. Even during India’s marathon first-innings of 116.4 overs, the Sri Lankan seamers bowled just 30.4 overs combined, which was nearly 25% of the entire innings.
Thus, Gautam Gambhir's team management could easily rest their lead pacer in the following Test at Colombo (SSC), especially with Siraj expected to play a massive role in the New Zealand Tests.
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