Manjrekar shared his opinion on who should partner Jasprit Bumrah as the second-choice pacer, suggesting Prasidh Krishna holds a slight edge over Mohammed Siraj.
Sanjay Manjrekar Questions Mohammed Siraj’s Form, Backs Prasidh Krishna as Second-Choice Pacemaker
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar delivered a candid assessment of Mohammed Siraj’s recent red-ball form, putting both head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill on notice. Siraj, India’s premier pacer, has come under scrutiny after an underwhelming performance in the first Test at Leeds, where he took two wickets in the first innings but went wicketless in the second.
Though Siraj showed fight in the second innings—troubling Zak Crawley with movement and nearly dismissing Ben Duckett (only for a dropped catch by Yashasvi Jaiswal)—his overall impact was limited.
Manjrekar weighed in on the ongoing debate about who should partner Jasprit Bumrah as India’s second fast bowler. He suggested that Prasidh Krishna holds a slight advantage over Siraj, citing Krishna’s five wickets in the Leeds Test despite being a bit expensive.
“It’s a tough call because Mohammed Siraj is the senior bowler and has bowled well historically, but current form has to be considered,” Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo. With just 28 wickets in his last 10 Tests, Siraj’s inconsistency is placing extra pressure on Bumrah to lead India’s bowling attack.
Manjrekar pointed out that Krishna appeared to be Shubman Gill’s preferred bowler in the second innings at Headingley, taking crucial wickets. However, he stressed that the coaching staff must work on making Krishna more economical to maximize his effectiveness.
“Towards the end of the match, Krishna looked like the go-to bowler for Gill to take wickets. Based on that, I might lean towards Krishna. It’s a hard decision, but considering Mohammed Siraj current form, the focus should be on helping Krishna improve his economy,” he added.
“Nitish Reddy in place of Shardul Thakur”
Sanjay Manjrekar further recommended that India take a daring approach by dropping a frontline pacer in favor of including Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. Additionally, he suggested bringing in Nitish Kumar Reddy to replace Shardul Thakur.
“Don’t play seamers just because you’re in a country where seam works. I would drop a seamer and bring in Kuldeep Yadav, and include Nitish Kumar Reddy instead of Shardul Thakur,” Manjrekar asserted.
