Is Mohammed Siraj playing today’s IND vs NZ 2023 World Cup semifinal?
Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj retains his place in the team playing XI for the upcoming semi-final encounter against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium on November 15.
Siraj sustained a minor blow during the win over the Netherlands on Sunday. He was off the field after a point in the second innings after the ball hit his neck while attempting to take a catch. The medical team also subjected the pacer to a concussion test to avoid any potential issues.
The Hyderabad-born pacer bowled six overs in the contest, claiming two wickets while conceding 29 runs.
The Men in Blue have resisted the urge to play an extra all-rounder to increase batting and bowling depth, and have retained the same playing XI from their thumping win over the Netherlands. A small legion of fans also believed that there was a case to be made for Ravichandran Ashwin, considering that the contest would be played on a used surface.
However, Rohit Sharma dismissed all such notions during the toss and placed the faith in the same playing XI, laden with specialists. The Indian skipper said during the toss after opting to bat first:
"We're going to bat first. It looks like a good pitch. Looks on the slower side. We understand that whatever we do, we have to do it well. It was way back in 2019 when we played that semi-final."
"New Zealand have been one of the most consistent teams over the years," he added. "It'll be a good contest. It's a very important day. It's important to turn up on that particular day. We have to focus on the present and control the controllables. Same team."
Mohammed Siraj has picked up 12 wickets in nine matches at the 2023 ODI World Cup so far. His best performance in the league stage came against Sri Lanka, which was also played at the Wankhede Stadium - the venue for today's semi-final clash.
Mohammed Siraj lost his No.1 ODI ranking to Keshav Maharaj recently
The Indian right-arm pacer was crowned as the No.1 ODI bowler, pipping the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Shaheen Afridi. However, he lost the top spot in the space of a week, with South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj taking a hold on the back of his impressive World Cup campaign.
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand XI: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Trent Boult.