India’s Mohammed Siraj (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) Mohammed Siraj’s return to the T20I side was long overdue and came when he least expected it. Siraj last played a T20I for India in 2024 against Sri Lanka. Since then, although he has remained a regular fixture in Tests and ODIs, the shortest format has moved on without him. On Friday, he joined the Indian team in Mumbai as a substitute after Harshit Rana was ruled out. At that point it looked like a cover and nothing more.
Why Gautam Gambhir and Hardik Pandya had an intense chat ahead of India vs USA T20 WC
Less than a day later, circumstances changed. Jasprit Bumrah fell ill. Suddenly there was a call. Siraj was in XI. On Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium, Siraj made his return to T20 internationals in India’s T20 World Cup opener against the United States of America. It was his first T20I for India in 557 days and he came on the biggest stage possible. USA captain Monank Patel won the toss and elected to bowl first. “We miss Washi, we miss Sanju. Unfortunately Bumrah is unwell so Siraj plays,” Suryakumar said at the toss. India were happy to bat first given the conditions. “We wanted to bat first. The wicket looks good, there’s wind around so we don’t expect dew. It’s lively even before the game starts and I’m sure it will get even better,” he added. It made the environment even more special for Siraj. World Cup opening for India. The crowd at the Wankhede. A chance that came not by planning, but by fate. Teams:India: Ishan Kishan (w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy.USA: Saiteja Mukkamalla, Andries Gous (wk), Monank Patel (c), Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan.
