India have shuffled their fast-bowling pack once again, opting to rest Mohammed Siraj for the upcoming T20 matches in Ireland and England and calling up his Gujarat Titans team-mate Prasidh Krishna instead. The switch, confirmed on Tuesday morning, is squarely about workload, not form.
“Following discussions between the BCCI Medical Team and the Team Management, Siraj has been advised a period of rest as part of his workload management programme,” the board said. “The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to ensure adequate recovery ahead of a long international season.”
That season is busy enough to make anyone’s head spin. After the two-match series in Belfast on 26 and 28 June, India fly straight to England for five further T20Is (1-11 July). An ODI leg in England follows, then trips to Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Even the most resilient quick needs breathing space somewhere in that lot.
Siraj’s schedule has been relentless: 17 IPL games this year on top of the one-off Test victory over Afghanistan last month in New Chandigarh. Prasidh, by contrast, played 12 IPL matches and also featured in that Afghanistan Test. He has only five T20I caps – eight wickets at an admittedly steep economy rate of 11 – but the selectors clearly feel he can share the load now rather than later.
Some supporters will wonder whether India are risking rhythm by sitting Siraj out, especially with England’s batting depth waiting in early July. Yet coaches have stressed for months that rotation is non-negotiable. Prasidh was already named in the squad for the Afghanistan ODIs that begin on 13 June, so this tweak keeps him in white-ball mode for an extended spell.
The rest of the touring party is unchanged: Shreyas Iyer continues as captain, Tilak Varma his deputy, with the familiar mix of spin (Axar, Washington, Chakravarthy, Bishnoi) and pace (Arshdeep, Harshit Rana, debutant Prince Yadav) around them. Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are again the designated keepers, though both have fielded more questions about consistency than technique lately.
There is, of course, room for Siraj to return later in the summer. If the BCCI’s medical panel has judged the break correctly, he should be fresh for the ODIs in England and whatever follows. For now, Prasidh gets another crack at the new ball; India get a chance to deepen their fast-bowling pool; and Siraj finally gets to put his feet up – if only for a fortnight.
