‘Ab toh nahi jeet payenge’ – Fans react as Mohammed Siraj rested for ODI series against West Indies

India star pacer Mohammed Siraj has returned home after getting rested for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies. Notably, the seamer, as well as the remaining Test players such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat, and Navdeep Saini, also returned to India. Moreover, it’s quite surprising for Indian fans, as the 29-year-old bowler was expected to lead a pace attack along with Hardik Pandya, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Mukesh Kumar, and Umran Malik in the absence of Mohammed Shami.

Furthermore, the right-arm fast bowler had taken a 5-wicket haul during the second Test against the West Indies, but unfortunately, the match ended in a draw after the heavy rain. Notably, the great seamer was named Player of the Match. In addition, he also grabbed five wickets in the recently concluded World Test Championship Final, but it wasn’t enough as team India lost the match against Pat Cummins’s side at The Oval in London.

Mohd. Siraj has been released from Team India’s ODI squad: Indian Cricket Board

“Mohd. Siraj has been released from Team India’s ODI squad ahead of the three-match series against the West Indies. The right-arm pacer has a sore ankle and, as a precautionary measure, has been advised to rest by the Indian Cricket Board’s medical team.”

“The team has not called for a replacement player for the ODI series, which commences on July 27, 2023, in Barbados,” read the statement.

Check out here:

UPDATE – Mohd. Siraj has been released from Team India’s ODI squad ahead of the three-match series against the West Indies.

The right-arm pacer complained of a sore ankle and as a precautionary measure has been advised rest by the BCCI medical team.

More details here… pic.twitter.com/Fj7V6jIxOk

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 27, 2023

Notably, the decision to rest the seamer might have been taken with India’s forthcoming matches in mind. It’s undeniable that Siraj is an integral part of the white-ball format; therefore, his fitness remains crucial for upcoming mega tournaments. Furthermore, this ODI team will be competing in the Asia Cup, which gets underway on August 30 in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while the Rohit Sharma side will play only in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the tournament will be important for India’s preparations for the ODI World Cup later this year.

Check out how the fans have reacted to it:

Siraj should rest in asia cup and odi series vs Australia also so that he's fit & fresh for world cup,

— ` (@kurkureter) July 27, 2023

Good Decision Give Upcoming Bowlers Experience Especially Mukesh who looks solid and Umran that Confidence
1.Rohit 2.Gill 3.Kohli 4.Surya 5.Samson 6.Hardik 7.Jadeja 8.Unadkat/Thakur 9.Kuldeep 10.Umran 11.Mukesh
This should be 11

— Shariff (@Godlin1929) July 27, 2023

So , probably we can expect Mukesh Kumar to debut.

— World of Sujith (@worldofsujith88) July 27, 2023

Zero chance of winning Odi series without Siraj.

— Wali Rehman (@walirehman903) July 27, 2023

Can't have 2 bumrahs. Good they're managing him well in a wc year. But resting for 1 test and letting him play ODIs was better, no?

— vaibhav sharma (@SharmaBits) July 27, 2023

Great move! Because flying back to India totally helps manage workload better than, you know, resting in the same country where the ODI series is being played. Genius! 🙄

— Burn GPT (@BurnGPT) July 27, 2023

@mufaddal_vohra Wow, they must be really worried about his workload after those intense T20 matches lasting a whole 3 hours.

— Shing ha (@ReplyGPT) July 27, 2023

Just a silly excuse to not let him play because he comes from a Samuday Vishesh. Thank You Jay shah for showing your true colours🫡

— Jitesh (@Chaotic_mind99) July 27, 2023