IND vs AUS: Irfan Pathan Explains Why Mohammed Siraj Is Preferred Over Mohammed Shami

Former India pacer Irfan Pathan heaped praises on Mohammed Siraj after his impeccable 6-wicket haul in Asia Cup 2023 final. Irfan Pathan also explained why Mohammed Siraj is preferred over Mohammed Shami in ODIs.

Mohammed Shami was dropped from the playing XI in Asia Cup 2023 final. India picked two full-time pacers in the match in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Hardik Pandya acted as the third pacer for the team. Shami was also dropped in earlier games.

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Mohammed Siraj Is Doing Special Things For India: Irfan Pathan

While speaking on Star Sports, cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan shed light on why Mohammed Siraj is preferred over Mohammed Shami. According to Pathan, Siraj can swing the ball both ways around and this is his special ability.

“You might see the degree of swing but the late swing and control you saw in Mohammed Siraj’s bowling, that is why a bowler like Mohammed Shami is sitting outside. You won’t find an international team where a wicket-taker who bowls with an upright seam like Mohammed Shami doesn’t get a place in the playing XI”, Pathan said.

“So who is playing in place of him (Shami) – a bowler (Siraj) who swings the ball both ways and bowls around 140 kph. So you need to do something special. He is doing special things but what he did today was extremely special,” added Pathan.

Irfan Pathan, who played 24 Tests and 129 ODIs for India, also added Mohammed Siraj forced Sri Lanka batters to make mistakes.

“You might feel the Sri Lankan batters could have done better but Mohammed Siraj forced them to make mistakes. It was high-class bowling. He tried to dismiss batters by making them drive.

Siraj arrived with an impeccable performance in IND vs SL Asia Cup 2023 final. The right-arm pacer hunted 6 wickets for 21 runs in his spell, registering his best-ever bowling figures in ODIs. Notably, Siraj hunted 4 wickets in the 4th over of the match.

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Hardik Pandya (3) and Jasprit Bumrah (1) hunted the rest of the wickets. Sri Lanka was bundled out for just 50 runs in 1st innings, witnessing one of the worst shows. Later, Indian openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill drove the team to victory by 10 wickets in just 6.1 overs.