IND vs SA 2022: "This inclusion makes close to zero sense" - Twitterati caught in two minds as Mohammed Siraj replaces Jasprit Bumrah in India's squad

IND vs SA 2022: "This inclusion makes close to zero sense" - Twitterati caught in two minds as Mohammed Siraj replaces Jasprit Bumrah in India
Mohammed Siraj last played a T20I seven months ago

The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has named Mohammed Siraj as Jasprit Bumrah's replacement for the remainder of the three-T20I series against South Africa.

Bumrah is currently in Bangalore undergoing scans to assess the severity of a reported back stress fracture, which potentially rules him out of T20 World Cup 2022 as well.

With Bumrah ruled out of the ongoing series against South Africa, India only have Umesh Yadav on the sidelines as a backup pacer.

Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are completing their rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), forcing the management to name a replacement for the injured Bumrah.

Siraj last played a T20I in February 2022 during the home series against West Indies. While he made his debut in 2017, the right-arm pacer has only featured in five T20Is to date.

He has claimed five wickets so far with an economy of 10.45. A poor Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign meant that Siraj was not considered for selection in the shortest format for India.

Another viable candidate emerged in the form of Mohammed Shami. However, with the pacer having only recently recovered from COVID-19, he is likely to report to the NCA to assess his fitness first.

The right-arm pacer missed the three-match series against Australia due to the infection and was even ruled out of the T20Is against the Proteas, with Umesh Yadav being named as the replacement.

The verdict on the replacement was highly divided on Twitter. Here are a few reactions:

India's updated squad for the South Africa T20Is

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.

The Men in Blue will take on South Africa in the second T20I on Sunday, October 2, in Guwahati. Rohit Sharma's side currently hold a 1-0 lead in the series courtesy of an eight-wicket win in the series opener.

Is Mohammad Siraj the right choice to replace Jasprit Bumrah? Let us know what you think.

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