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Mohammed Siraj's fading magic in ODIs decoded with Harshit, Prasidh's arrival for India

Anurag Dasgupta

Mohammed Siraj in action (Source: AFP Photos)Mohammed Siraj in action (Source: AFP Photos)

When the India ODI squad was revealed for the South Africa series, eyebrows were raised as there was no Mohammed Siraj in the team. After Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj is perhaps India’s next all-format bowler, but he was once again neglected as other bowlers with little to no credentials were given preference.

He last played in the ODIs against Australia recently, and despite having a solid economy rate, the pacer was not considered important for the South Africa series. Before the Aussie tour, he was also snubbed from the Champions Trophy squad, and perhaps, time has come to admit that India have moved on from Siraj in the 50-overs format.

How Siraj has performed in ODIs

Criterion
Data
Matches47
Dismissals
73
Average24.67
Economy rate5.17

(Siraj's record in ODIs)

  • Siraj has played 47 matches and boasts a stellar ODI record. In his short career in this format, the right-arm pacer has done extremely well, picking up 73 wickets, with an economy rate of just 5.17.
  • He maintains an average of 24, and it defines Siraj’s brilliance in this format, yet the bowler has not been considered in the ODIs in recent times. Even in the World Cup 2023, he performed exceedingly well, picking 14 wickets, but since then, he has been in and out of the team.

Why Siraj has been neglected from the ODIs

  • With Bumrah not at his absolute best due to his back injury, Team India wanted to manage Siraj’s workload carefully, but while others are given a fair chance to audition for the World Cup 2027 squad selection, Siraj is forced to play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).
  • Head coach Gautam Gambhir has his favourites in the squad, and the duo of Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna have been given an opportunity to stamp their authority in the ODI setup. While Harshit has done exceedingly well in the format, Prasidh Krishna’s selection over Siraj remains questionable.

How Harshit Rana and Krishna have done done in ODIs

Criterion
Harshit Rana
Prasidh Krishna
Matches1121
Dismissals
2037
Average25.5526.83
Economy6.016.02

(Harshit vs Prasidh in ODIS)

  • There is not much to separate the two bowlers in the ODI format. Both have taken wickets for India, and both seamers have a similar average and an economy rate. Interestingly, the economy and average of both Harshit and Prasidh is higher than that of Siraj in ODIs.
  • In the recently concluded ODIs vs South Africa, Krishna managed to scalp 7 wickets, but it came at an economy of 7.80. On the other hand, Harshit conceded runs at 6.39, and only picked up 4 wickets.

Why this could be the end of the road for Siraj

Despite the underwhelming performances by both Harshit and Krishna, they will still be selected in the future ODI programs, and this could be the end of the road for Siraj. Harshit and Krishna have the backing of Gambhir, and Arshdeep Singh also did well in the ODIs vs the Proteas.

For the World Cup 2027, Bumrah will also be back as the right-armer is the leader of the pace attack. If Pandya stays fit, he will be the fifth seamer in the team, and that leaves no room for Siraj in the team.