He urged the team management to drop Siraj and provide honest, direct feedback on his performances, particularly following his display in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar called for clear communication regarding Mohammed Siraj’s performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
While Gavaskar is generally not in favor of resting players on important tours, he urged the team management to drop Siraj and provide honest, direct feedback on his performances, particularly following his display in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Although Siraj claimed 13 wickets in the seven innings of the series, his lack of control and inability to make an impact with the new ball raised concerns. The fast bowler from Hyderabad struggled to match his previous tour’s heroics and failed to provide the necessary support to Jasprit Bumrah.
Despite his underwhelming performances, Siraj was retained for the crucial Boxing Day Test. However, he failed to impress in the Melbourne Test first innings, with his aggression not translating into effectiveness.
Speaking on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar suggested Mohammed Siraj may need to be dropped due to underperformance, stressing the importance of being brutally honest with players instead of using terms like “rest,” which could cause misunderstandings.
“I think Siraj, perhaps, needs a little bit of a break. In the sense, I am not saying a break, he needs to be told that he is left out of the team for non-performance. There has to be a situation where you can’t beat around the bush. You need to be brutally upfront and say ‘look, your performance has not been up to scratch and therefore you are being dropped’. When you start talking about ‘rest’, players get wrong ideas. They feel they don’t need to up their game,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Sunil Gavaskar emphasized that Siraj needs to be told clearly that his performance hasn’t met expectations, especially on pitches that have been favorable for fast bowlers.
“But I think Siraj needs te be told ‘look, you are not bowling as well as we expected you to on pitches that have been helpful’. That is something that needs to be told, he added.
The former Indian cricketer suggested that if India wants to make changes, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana could be brought in to support Jasprit Bumrah.
“If you want to make two changes. Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana to support Jasprit Bumrah. By all means, do that,” he further added.
Also Read: ‘Boring Without the Showman’ – Virat Kohli Gets Vehement Backing From Former RCB and England Star
In the morning session, Steven Smith anchored the Australian innings with a brilliant century, while Pat Cummins contributed a valuable 49, helping Australia reach a commanding total of 474.
India mounted a fightback in the afternoon, with Ravindra Jadeja and Akash Deep claiming crucial wickets, including that of Smith for 140.
India’s response faltered early, with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul both dismissed cheaply. Jaiswal (82) and Kohli (36) looked promising, but a mix-up led to Jaiswal’s run out, and Kohli followed soon after. India ended the day at 164/5, with Rishabh Pant and Jadeja at the crease.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.