Team India selections can sometimes be very erratic even for some of the senior players. One series you are part of and the next one you are not, regardless of the format. Pacer Mohammed Siraj is certainly one of those players. He was a part of the T20 World Cup 2024 winning squad, but he could not make it this time around.

Workload Management:

Notably, his last appearance in the subordinate was in July 2024. However, on the contrary, he is still part of the ODI squad but not for T20Is. It is hard to guess the rationale. There might be something behind it that is beyond the public's understanding. In the meantime, Siraj has taken up his absence and has pointed to workload management. The captain also said the VC came up for the toss.

Siraj said ahead of the third IND vs NZ ODI commented: “I was rested from the last ODI series against South Africa because I had bowled 40 overs in the second (South Africa) Test. I haven’t been in and out. I played in Australia, and then was rested. For a fast bowler, adequate rest is very important. Been playing Test matches consistently and you end up working out a lot. You need to refuel to maintain the rhythm and focus."

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He also added: "I played the last T20 World Cup and not this time. For a player, playing in the World Cup is a different dream — playing for your country. The team is quite good on paper and in form. My best wishes to them. Keep the trophy here."

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.