Team India handed out debuts to Krunal Pandya and Prasidh Krishna in the first ODI against England today, with Mohammed Siraj missing out. In the same light, former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said that he is not a fan of Siraj as a white-ball bowler and hinted that India might look at him as a Test specialist going into the future.
Mohammed Siraj, who had put on an impressing showing in the Test series against Australia and England, was ignored, with the hosts going in with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna as the three seamers. Manjrekar also said India is simply exploring more options by handing Krishna his debut.
“Prasidh Krishna is just another bowling talent that India is exploring. They have already got their five guys. I’m not a big fan of Mohammed Siraj in white-ball cricket. If he has found his confidence in Test match cricket, India might just look at Mohammed Siraj more and more of that,” he said.
“Saini, too with more white-ball cricket. But with Shardul and other guys around, they have got plenty of white ball seam bowling options. I’m very happy for Prasidh Krishna,” Sanjay Manjrekar was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
The cricketer-turned-commentator further stated that he was excited about the number of quality options that the Indian team had to choose from. The 55-year-old highlighted how players who do not play are also exciting options that Team India might want to look at in the coming time.
“I’m looking at Indian cricket, and I’m excited about the kind of talent pool available. We have seen some exciting T20 batting talent; in fact, guys who were not playing in the T20 XI for India, those guys were also exciting options that you would be keen to go to. And same with seam bowling. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s comeback in the T20 series was significant,” he added.