Gautam Gambhir, BCCI's Hypocrisy Exposed; Mohammed Siraj Rested For Workload Management, Continues to Feature in SMAT

Ind vs SA: India pacer Mohammed Siraj, who was once labelled as an all-format player, is not featuring in the white-ball leg against South Africa at home. Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta has now questioned the motive behind the move. Exposing the double-face of Gautam Gambhir and the BCCI, Dasgupta said if Siraj has been rested, like Jasprit Bumrah - why is he then playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. 

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‘How is he playing in the ongoing SMAT?’

“Why is Mohammed Siraj not playing this ODI series, especially after his growth in stature since the England series? Okay, you have rested Jasprit Bumrah because of his workload. Now then, if that’s the reason with Siraj as well, then how is he playing in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy (for Hyderabad)? Does workload management imply you can play domestic cricket but not the international matches?” the former selector told Telegraph India.

“Suppose on the eve of a game, one of the three quicks gets injured or indisposed. Who do you play then? You don’t have enough (ODI cricket) experience in your pace group in the first place, and then you could be forced to include (seamer all-rounder) Nitish Kumar Reddy, who will neither bat in the top six nor give you too many overs with the ball. The presence of an experienced guy like Siraj could seriously have helped in such a situation," he added.

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Did Siraj Play vs J&K? 

Siraj was in the Hyderabad squad for the game against Jammu and Kashmir, but he was was not in the XI. Despite Siraj's absence in the game against J&K, Hyderabad won the Elite Group B match in Kolkata by four wickets. In Elite Group B, Hyderabad are table-toppers with four wins in five games.