'Shami best tha yaar' - Netizens unimpressed as Mohammed Siraj gets as named Jasprit Bumrah's replacement for South Africa series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on September 30 (Friday) named Mohammed Siraj as the replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah. The right-arm pacer will join the Indian squad for the last two T20I encounters against South Africa. 

The decision has not gone down well with the Indian fans who feel that the senior pacer Mohammed Shami would have been a much better option as compared to Siraj. To note, Shami recently recovered from Covid-19, but the Indian board had earlier stated that Shami is yet to attain full recovery. 

Mohammed Siraj has very ordinary numbers in T20I format

Talking about Siraj's performance in the T20I format, the skiddy pacer played his last T20I match against Sri Lanka in February 2022. The right-arm pacer has not much to show in the 20-over format as he has taken five wickets in five matches and his economy is also on the higher side. 

Siraj was part of the Indian contingent which faced Zimbabwe in ODI series recently. The 28-year-old performed well during that series and gave some crucial breakthroughs for his side with the new ball. 

Despite not having good numbers in the T20I format, Siraj while representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has proved his worth. Siraj can be very lethal with the new ball as he has the ability to swing the ball both ways. He has also shown his capabilities to nail the yorkers in the death overs. 

Meanwhile, team India is set to take on South Africa in the second T20I match to be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on October 2 (Sunday). Indian pacers including Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar were excellent with the ball in the first T20I encounter and would want to repeat their antics in the second match as well. It also remains to be seen if Siraj will get a game in the remaining two matches or not.

Meanwhile, here are some Twitter reactions: