Credits: BCCI/X
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar shared a brutal take on fast bowler Mohammed Siraj amid his poor performance in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Gavaskar said that Siraj needs to be told about his weak performance and must be dropped in a way that he realises he is being left out. Notably, Siraj’s form slump has been on display in the ongoing elite competition, as he has picked 14 wickets in the first three Tests. The cricketer has failed to make an impact with the new ball, and has given away 122 runs at a rate of 5.30 in 23 overs.
Gavaskar spoke on Star Sports, "I think Siraj, perhaps, needs a little bit of a break. In the sense, I am not saying a break, he needs to be told that he is left out of the team for non-performance. There has to be a situation where you can’t beat around the bush. You need to be brutally upfront and say ‘look, your performance has not been up to scratch and therefore you are being dropped’. When you start talking about ‘rest’, players get wrong ideas. They feel they don’t need to up their game.”
Siraj needs to be told ‘look, you are not bowling well’: Sunil Gavaskar
The former India captain added, “I think Siraj needs te be told ‘look, you are not bowling as well as we expected you to on pitches that have been helpful’. That is something that needs to be told.” He continued, ‘If you want to make two changes. Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana to support Jasprit Bumrah. By all means, do that.”
Notably, the hosts posted a mammoth total of 474, after skipper Cummins won the toss for the first time in the series and let home favourites put the score on the board first. Talking about the Indian bowlers, Bumrah was the only one to make an impact with the ball, as the Indian ace scalped four wickets for 99 runs in 28.4 overs.
