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Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer took to social media on Sunday (October 2). He shared a funny reel depicting the current conditions of Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.
While Shami has begun net practice after recovering from COVID-19, the former has been named injured pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement for the last two T20Is against South Africa.
Taking to Instagram, Jaffer wrote:
“Shami and Siraj trying to get WC ready in short time.”
Interestingly, Shami has not played in T20Is since the 2021 T20 World Cup. However, he scalped 20 wickets in 16 matches for IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans.
The senior pacer was named in the T20I squad for Australia and South Africa but tested COVID-19 positive, which ruled him out of all the six T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia next month.
Meanwhile, Siraj has cut short his county stint to be available for the last two T20Is against the Proteas.
He last played a T20I against Sri Lanka in February. The right-arm seamer picked up a five-wicket haul on his debut for Warwickshire in County Championship Division One.
"I am surprised Mohammed Siraj got the opportunity" – Saba Karim
Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim has expressed his surprise as Siraj has been named ahead of Shami in the T20I series against South Africa. He believed veteran Shami, if fit and available, would have been the best choice.
Speaking on India News, he said:
“I am surprised Mohammed Siraj got the opportunity against South Africa in T20Is. I was expecting Mohammad Shami to be drafted into the Indian team because he has tested negative for COVID-19 and could have played one or two matches from the T20 World Cup point of view.”
He added:
“They might be giving him rest for the T20I series against South Africa due to COVID protocols. He might go to Australia, play warm-up matches and bring himself in contention for playing XI.”
It's worth mentioning that he has played 17 T20Is in which he scalped 18 wickets at an economy rate of 9.54.
However, the fast bowler has the experience of playing a Test series in Australia, where he picked up, which includes 13 wickets in three Tests, including a fifer.
India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (replacement yet to be announced), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players - Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar.
