India cricket team has only used Mohammed Siraj for six overs in IND vs NZ 3rd Test in Mumbai. Yes, you read that right. The Hyderabad pacer was used for 6 overs in the 1st innings and is yet to bowl a single delivery in the 2nd innings. Rohit Sharma and co. could have very well opted for another spinner in place of Siraj, if they did not wish to give him the full quota of overs.
India should have picked Kuldeep Yadav over Siraj for IND vs NZ 3rd Test
Mohammed Siraj has been in poor from in the ongoing Test season. He was dropped from IND vs NZ 2nd Test in Pune, only to find himself back in the side replacing Jasprit Bumrah in Mumbai. Against Bangladesh, he managed to take just two wickets across two matches. He added another couple of wickets to his tally in IND vs NZ 1st Test in Bengaluru. While Siraj bowled just six overs in the 1st innings, Rohit Sharma is yet to bring him to bowl in the 2nd innings, despite New Zealand having played 43 overs.
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Given that the surface at Wankhede is favourable to the spinners, it would have made more sense for India to field Kuldeep Yadav in the XI instead of Siraj. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have tasted success once again in the 3rd Test, bagging three and four wickets respectively to reduce NZ to 171/9 at the end of Day 2. While spinner have been India’s preferred options for the game, Akash Deep has bowled 10 overs so far as opposed to Siraj’s 6.
