Sunil Gavaskar expresses his vote of confidence in Mohammed Siraj ahead of T20 World Cup

Mohammed Siraj was in impeccable form against South Africa in the recently concluded ODI series. As a culmination of his excellent efforts, he was awarded the player of the series, claiming 5 wickets from 3 games and bowling an exceptionally economical spell.

There has been some hot debate about who should be the ideal candidate to fill in the massive boots of Jasprit Bumrah and so far the opinions are split between Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. A few believe that Shami is the ideal bowler for the Australian conditions while others believe that Miyan should be the one to catch that flight given his match fitness.

Indian cricket legend, Sunil Gavaskar, seemingly has already made up his mind about who should be the one to slot in the momentous void left behind by Jasprit Bumrah just ahead of the T20 World Cup. The batting virtuoso believes that it should be the RCB quick who should be making the final cut, considering his stellar form against the touring South African team and the match practice that he has had.

Gavaskar told Star Sports, “I'd go for Siraj because he has been bowling well, Shami has not played for a while. And to hit your steps straight away in a World Cup, yes there are a couple of warm-up matches. As of now, nobody has been selected as the 15th player. I don't know...has he gone with the team to Australia? He hasn't gone. So he has played no cricket. And that's a concern.”

He further added, “No doubting his quality. Just the fact that he (Shami) has not played any cricket. It's never easy to comeback after COVID. Your stamina can be a little bit of suspect - I know it's a four over game in T20I cricket. But look at the way Siraj has been bowling. He's bowling brilliantly.”

Mohammed Siraj can be a menace the ball in the powerplay and his ability to generate such impactful performances makes him a perfect fit in the Australian conditions. Only time will tell, who will be announced as the final replacement for Jasprit Bumrah as India prepare for the mega battle with their arch-rivals at Melbourne on the October 23rd.