IND vs ENG: Former Indian cricketer wants India to drop Mohammed Siraj from playing 11

Mohammed Siraj failed to pick a single wicket in the first test in Hyderabad.

Former India player Parthiv Patel made a wild suggestion for the Indian team management ahead of the second Test against England. Trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, India will clash against England in the second Test at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam from February 2.

Indian batting failed to come good on a turning track on day 4 chasing 231 runs to win the first test. Tom Hartley picked 7/62 on his Test debut. He ran through the Indian batting lineup with only Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and KS Bharat being able to withstand England’s bowling on the tricky pitch.

Bowlingwise, India had a good outing in the first innings, but in the second innings, Ollie Pope made 196 and formed crucial partnerships with the lower order to take England to 420 despite starting the innings with a deficit of 190 runs.

Parthiv Patel gave an interesting advice to the Indian cricket team management ahead of the second Test against England in Vizag and said they should consider dropping Mohammed Siraj and bring an extra batter.

Playing at his home ground in a test for the first time, Mohammed Siraj went wicketless in the first match. Siraj bowled a total of 11 overs and conceded 50 runs and was the last wicket that fell as India lost the match.

Why not play an extra pure batter in place of Mohammed Siraj – Parthiv Patel

Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv has now given the Indian team management an interesting piece of advice: go with an extra pure batter rather than Mohammed Siraj. The former wicket-keeper-batsman believes that if Siraj isn’t being used effectively, a batter should be added.

“There is no doubt that three spinners are enough, but I have a different perspective. You have used Siraj for only six or seven overs throughout the Test. Axar Patel played ahead of Kuldeep Yadav because of his batting abilities, as mentioned by Rohit Sharma before the Test. And if you are not using Siraj much, then why not play an extra pure batter,” said Parthiv.

Parthiv believes that if India listen to his advise, they will add more depth to their batting, and that having Siraj in the squad is pointless if he isn’t bowling many overs.

“So, you will have three types of bowlers in Ashwin, Axar, and Kuldeep, and the extra batter will add depth to the batting. And there’s no point playing someone if you are going to give him only seven overs,” he added.

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