The 3-match ODI series between India and England is underway, and before the series began, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the squad for both the ODI series and the Champions Trophy 2025. However, one name missing from both teams was Mohammed Siraj. The captain's reason for the snub? The pacer is less effective with the old ball.
It seems that this reasoning has not sat well with fans, and with Jasprit Bumrah already being an injury concern, Siraj's absence only adds to the worries. As the first ODI, taking place at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, is being broadcast on the Disney+ Hotstar app and Star Sports channel, there is a segment where fans can ask questions using the hashtag "Ask Star."?
Soon enough, the main topic of discussion became Siraj and why he was left out of the squad. With injury keeping Bumrah out of the ODI series and, barring Shami, no senior pacer to lead the charge, fans want to know if Siraj can make a comeback into the squad.?
Many users on X (formerly known as Twitter) used "#AskStar" and trended Siraj's name on social media, demanding answers from the experts in the commentary box.?
One user said, "No on moves the ball as good as Siraj when he is on rhythm for INDIA.. Harshit rana is a First change bowler and they are not like to like replacement".?
Another said, "If bumrah not available for selection then India should select siraj in place of him. What's your views on this ???"?
One wrote, "what you think siraj should have been there in champions trophy and is there lack of pacers quality in champions trophy?"?
Another wanted to know, "Why Siraj is not part of this odi series ? because his records are very good in odi but rohit said siraj is not good with old ball".?
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.?
After 36 overs, England has scored 184/6, with Jacob Bethell and Brydon Carse at the crease. Debutant Harshit Rana picked up 3 wickets, while Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja took one each, along with one run out.?
Captain Jos Buttler scored 52 before departing. Prior to that, Philip Salt (43 off 26) and Ben Duckett (32 off 29) gave a strong start before falling one after the other. Harry Brook didn't contribute to the scorecard, departing for a duck, and Joe Root managed to score 19 off 31 balls. Liam Livingstone came and left without much damage, departing for 5 off 10.?
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