County Championship: Siraj picks up fifer on debut

Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj picked up a fifer on his debut for Warwickshire in the County Championship Division One.

The right-arm pacer emerged with figures of 5/82 against Somerset on Day 2 (Tuesday, September 13) of the ongoing fixture.

The 28-year-old broke the backbone of the opposition with some exceptional bowling. He was stunning with the ball and dismissed key players like Imam-ul-Haq and Lewis Gregory.

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Siraj's brilliant bowling performance helped his team bundle out Somerset for 219 runs after 65.4 overs in their first innings.

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The Hyderabad-based bowler has been impressive since making his debut for India. He has emerged as the third specialist seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in Tests with 40 wickets in 13 matches.

Siraj fails to make cut in India squad for T20 World Cup

The right-arm medium-fast bowler failed to find a place in the India squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next month. The development comes as he failed to impress in the recently concluded ODIs in Zimbabwe. He scalped only two wickets in two matches.

However, Siraj looked decent in the Caribbean as he picked up six wickets in four ODIs against West Indies.

While the Men in Blue are busy preparing for the T20 World Cup, Siraj is honing his skills for the game's longest format. He is currently working on improving his line and length in England. Here’s what he said, as quoted by PTI:

"In West Indies (ODIs) and England (Test match) also I bowled well, my rhythm was good in the first match as well, so my plan was to hit an area consistently without worrying whether I will get wickets or not."

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer has, so far, managed to play only five T20Is and 10 ODIs owing to his inconsistency in white-ball cricket. He will likely be named in the India squad for the three ODIs against South Africa.

The Men in Blue will play their first ODI against the Proteas in Lucknow on October 6. The action will shift to Ranchi and Delhi for the second and third ODIs on October 9 and 11, respectively.