India have rested fast bowler Mohammed Siraj from their T20I squad for the tours to Ireland and England as part of a work-load management plan. The Siraj has withdrew from the series and will not play in either of them, while Krishna replaces him as announced by India’s apex cricket body BCCI.
BCCI’s medical team had discussion with the Indian team management before arriving at this decision. The board added that Siraj has been advised to rest in order to remain physically fresh for a busy international calendar coming up.
The decision, the BCCI said in an official statement, was purely precautionary and intended to allow the veteran fast bowler enough time for recovery before India embark on a rigorous stretch of cricket spanning multiple formats and countries.
Siraj is a key member of India’s fast-bowling attack in the past couple of years. The pacer from Hyderabad has been an important bowler in all formats and it was a heavy load on him for not only India but his IPL franchise, too. The management feels it will be important to manage his fitness well and not risk injury keeping in mind the number of matches lined up over the next few months.
Prasidh Krishna, who plays for Gujarat Titans in the IPL like Siraj, has been named as his replacement. The selectors have had an eye on the tall right-arm pacer for a while and he gets yet another opportunity to impress in T20 format.
Prasidh has featured in five T20 Internationals for India, where he claimed eight scalps. His economy rate of 11 runs per over paints a difficult picture for the format, but selectors think his skills at pace and bounce will help him. His latest T20I came in his favour from November 2023, taking a South-Wales series against Australia inside Guwahati for belongings.
Sharma has also been picked in the ODI squad for India ahead of their three-match series against Afghanistan starting June 13. On the other hand, Siraj was later dropped from that ODI series as well in a clear sign of management’s plan to manage him for future assignments.
Significantly, the duo of Siraj and Prasidh had played for India in their recent Test win against Afghanistan at New Chandigarh. Their performances in red-ball cricket have bolstered India’s pace-bowling stocks and given selectors plenty of options across formats.
Siraj played an important role for Gujarat Titans through IPL 2026 where he appeared in 17 matches. Gujarat made it to the final and Prasidh was also instrumental, featuring in 12 matches. Once again, their displays in the league proved the dearth of fast-bowling talent at Indian cricket’s disposal.
Also Read: India’s packed white-ball schedule in the upcoming months After the T20I series in England against Ireland and England, they will stay on for a One-Day International series there. India is also due to tour Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and New Zealand later in the year, ensuring fitness of its players as well as their workloads would form an important part of planning for selections.
Two T20 Internationals are set to be played in Belfast on June 26 and June 28 as part of the Ireland tour. After these games, India will head to England for a T20I series comprising five matches from July 1-11. The series will be crucial in aiding their preparations for forthcoming ICC tournaments and in building the team’s core group of players.
Another change to the squad is an appointed leadership role; shreyas iyer will get formal captaincy for India T20I side. Players like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prince Yadav, both U19 World Cup performers have got their chances in the squad as India looks to groom the future stars of Indian cricket
India T20I Squad for Ireland and England
T20 Squad in 2023: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy Shekhar Choudhary Ravi Bishnoi Prasidh Krishna Harshit Rana Arshdeep Singh Prince Yadav and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Siraj has been rested, and the returning Prasidh Krishna is expected to supplement India’s formidable pace attack without putting too much pressure on one of their best fast bowlers ahead of crucial challenges.
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