3 reasons why Mohammed Siraj's exclusion from West Indies ODIs is good for India

Ahead of the opening ODI against the West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj was withdrawn from the three-match series on account of a sore ankle.

Having had a lot of bowling to do on a lifeless deck in the 2nd Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, the fast bowler was withdrawn as a precautionary measure according to a statement by the BCCI on Thursday, July 27.

With Siraj out of the series, India are comfortably short on fast-bowling experience. Jasprit Bumrah is continuing his recovery from a back injury, while Mohammad Shami has been rested.

That said, it does open up opportunities of a different kind, with the ODI World Cup slated to be held at home in October. Let's look at three reasons as to why Siraj's exclusion from the series is good from India's point of view.

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#1 Mohammed Siraj has played a lot of cricket already in 2023

Workload management is a critical aspect when it comes to fast bowlers. More so if they're a bowler of Siraj's caliber, given how consistent a wicket-taker he has proven to be for India.

The seamer has featured in six of the seven Tests and eight of the nine ODIs that the Men in Blue have played this year. This is to go with 14 matches on the spin in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Quite clearly, Siraj has had plenty of overs under his belt. While there's no denying that his rhythm is right up there, it needs to be backed up with sufficient rest.

In order to maintain that rhythm in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup, this was perhaps the most ideal time for the management to hand Siraj a break.

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#2 This is the perfect time for India to test out the fringe bowlers

While they are short on experience, India are certainly not short of fast-bowling options for the ODI series against the West Indies. Despite Siraj being pulled out, they have Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat and Mukesh Kumar to turn to, apart from Hardik Pandya as the seam-bowling all-rounder.

Mukesh is uncapped at the ODI level, while Unadkat hasn't played one in close to 10 years. With the Asia Cup and a home series against Australia beckoning, India will want their frontline seam-bowling options to feature in as many of those games as possible.

This is to go with the fact that the think-tank and the selectors would also need to finalize their best possible 15-man squad for the World Cup by the time these two events beckon. Hence, the West Indies series offers the fringe fast bowlers potentially one last chance to put their hands up and show why they ought to make the cut.

With Siraj being a certain member of India's squad come the World Cup, the West Indies series is the apt time to try out the likes of Mukesh and Unadkat while also giving Umran a good run of games.

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#3 It allows India to experiment with their playing combination

It is largely expected that Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will slot into the top seven of India's batting lineup. This leaves room for four frontline bowlers in the playing XI.

While Jadeja can comfortably front up as the second spinning option, there could be games at the 2023 World Cup where fielding a third spinner could become an option for the Men in Blue. This would thrust Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal into the mix, with Kuldeep Yadav likely to be the first-choice spinner.

With Siraj out of the series, India can tinker around with this possibility over the course of these three matches in the Caribbean. They could thus ascertain where they stand with regards to horses-for-courses moves.

It will also give a better indication over Pandya's ability to don the third seamer's role and prepare him even better for the same, should the need ever arise at the World Cup.

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Can India's bowling unit succeed in Mohammed Siraj's absence for the West Indies ODIs? Have your say in the comments section below!

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