According to former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, when discussing Mohammed Siraj's exploits in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the message must be clear. Gavaskar, who dislikes resting players on crucial tours, asked the team management to bench the fast bowler and be 'brutally upfront' about his performances, particularly during the Boxing Day Test which is being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Siraj's performance in BGT
In the first three Test matches of the series, Mohammed Siraj claimed 14 wickets, but he was criticized for his poor control and insufficient potency with the new ball. The Hyderabad fast bowler failed to provide Jasprit Bumrah with the requisite support with the red ball, making it difficult to duplicate his heroics from the previous tour of Australia. However, Siraj received support from the team management to participate in the pivotal Boxing Day Test.
But Siraj's performance with the ball in the highly-discussed match in Melbourne was anything but impressive. The aggression continued unabated, but Siraj did not live up to expectations. The middle order and top order from Australia took the fast bowler to the cleaners.
In 23 overs, Siraj gave up 122 runs at a pace of 5.30. He was errant towards the conclusion of the Australian innings, giving up two five-wides, which made the Indian team even more frustrated. Siraj has given up the most runs of any frontline pacer on either side in the series, with 4.07 runs per over.
Gavaskar on Siraj
"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.
"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. If you want to make two changes. Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana to support Jasprit Bumrah. By all means, do that," he added.
In Melbourne, India let up a massive 474 in the first innings to Australia. After being caught off guard by 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas' unconventional attack on Day 1, Jasprit Bumrah also appeared unsettled. But Bumrah bounced back nicely, finishing with 4 for 99 in 28.4 overs. While Akash Deep claimed two wickets, including the vital one of Steve Smith, who reached 140, Ravindra Jadeja contributed three.