Big India Star Reportedly Flies Back Home From West Indies For This Reason

27.07.2023 - 07:07 sports.ndtv.com

India's star pacer Mohammed Siraj has flown back home after being rested from the three-match ODI series against West Indies, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

The bowler flew back with the rest of the Test returnees in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat and Navdeep Saini.

Siraj was anticipated to lead a pace attack that also includes the all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Mukesh, and Umran Malik while Mohammed Shami remained rested.

However, according to ESPNcricinfo, the BCCI decided to rest Siraj from the ODI part of the West Indies tour due to his workload.

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For the second match running, Hardik Pandya led the Indian team in the ODI series against West Indies on Tuesday. He stood in for Rohit Sharma in the second ODI, which the team lost. After comprehensively winning the first ODI against West Indies in Barbados, the Indian team were handed a defeat in the second match at the same venue as the hosts valiantly fought back. West Indies captain Shai Hope won the toss and opted to field against India in the third and final ODI of the three-match series at the Brian Lara Stadium.

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The Indian playing XI for the second ODI against West Indies in Barbados on Saturday had a different look as regular captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not part of it. Hardik Pandya stood in for Rohit, the skipper. "Few questions need to be answered for us, so Virat and Rohit are resting. They can be fresh for the third ODI. The way we bowled was impressive. The way we caught was great, it changed the momentum. I think when you get someone out for 115, it's a good effort from the bowlers. Our catching was impressive, but we can improve in certain areas. Instead of losing five wickets, we could have lost only two wickets and finished the last game. Sanju Samson and Axar Patel come in for Rohit and Virat," stand-in captain Hardik Pandya said at the toss.

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