Mohammed Siraj Has To Wait For His Turn - Ashish Nehra Picks The Senior Pace Trio To Start In The First Test

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra has gone with the senior pacer trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma to feature in the first Test against England, starting Wednesday at Trent Bridge, while excluding Mohammed Siraj, who has been impressive so far in his short Test career.

Speaking about the flak the Indian seamers received for not pitching up and swinging the ball in the WTC final against New Zealand, Ashish Nehra said it is not necessary that the bowlers will get wickets only by swinging the ball.

He cited the examples of Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer who, like Bumrah and Shami, are more dependant on seam movement than swing. Siraj, on the other hand, is known to proficiently move the ball in the air, and hence calls for his inclusion have been made by fans and other experts.

“Yes, Mohammed Siraj is waiting in the wings but he has to wait for his turn. Everybody knows that Siraj is a very skillful bowler but here you are talking about a guy like Jasprit Bumrah who has done really well in the last five-six years since his arrival. You have to start with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma.” Ashish Nehra said in an interaction with broadcasters Sony Networks. 

“I don’t agree that you need only swing bowlers in England. Look at somebody like Stuart Broad. Even Jofra Archer is not a swing bowler. But they are England’s main weapons, so a lot depends on how you bowl and it’s not like Bumrah or Shami can’t swing the ball or they need one particular surface to achieve results,” he added.

I would rather go in with KL Rahul as an opener: Ashish Nehra

With Mayank Agarwal ruled out of the first Test due to a concussion, following the ruling out of Shubman Gill for the entire series, India have been pushed into an unforeseen challenge.

Ashish Nehra said KL Rahul would be his preferred choice to open with Rohit Sharma at Trent Bridge, despite the right-hander being made ready for a middle-order role. Rahul has been in form during the IPL and struck a hundred in the warm-up match, but while batting at number 5.

Abhimanyu Easwaran, Hanuma Vihari, and Cheteshwar Pujara are other options India could ponder upon.

“The team management earlier said that we are looking at KL Rahul in the middle order. But see, I have seen KL Rahul as an opener in white-ball format. Before Hanuma Vihari, why not KL Rahul? Although I already feel that we have too many people floating around the opening slot, I hope Rohit plays all Tests. If I had to take chance, I would rather go in with KL Rahul as an opener,” the 2011 World Cup-winning seamer stated.

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