Former India player turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar said that speedster Mohammed Siraj’s current bowling style is not good for conditions in Australia. As per Manjrekar, Siraj seems unsure of whether he is a seam or swing bowler as well. However, Siraj went wicketless on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday, December 26. He bowled 15 overs and conceded 69 runs, going at an economy rate of 4.60 as well.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo after the opening day’s play at the MCG, Manjrekar said, “He’s caught in between being a seam bowler like Mohammed Shami, who would come and hit the pitch and [has] great wrists. To begin with, Siraj was an out and out swing bowler. I remember him bowling those balls leaving the left-handers. Now, he is between the two. When you release balls on Australian pitches that don’t have as much life, then you become easy fodder. Somewhere, I think, Siraj needs to reinvent a little bit, where he is not releasing the ball as much. Siraj, at this stage, the way he is bowling, he is not ideal for the kind of conditions we have in Australia.”

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He also questioned the decision to not have a proper fourth seamer and stick with the part-time one with Nitish Reddy.

“I thought India should have had a back-up seamer. There is no sign yet of this pitch being great for spinners – who knows days three, four and five, what could happen. But they would have loved a pure seam bowler at this stage and that. For now, you can say, [Jasprit] Bumrah will have to carry the load,” Sanjay Manjrekar concluded.