Australia captain Pat Cummins declined the question regarding the Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj in the lead-up to the upcoming ODI series.
Cummins dismissed question on plans against Siraj
India is set to play in the three-match ODI series against Australia starting on September 2. With India winning the Asia Cup tournament last week they set to play against Australia before competing in the World Cup 2023.
When asked about Mohammed Siraj’s lead in the ODI series, Australia captain Pat Cummins responded with a one-word answer that they have a specific strategy to deal with the bowler.
Mohammed Siraj has been performing well in the ODI format in recent outings. He registered his best bowling figures of 6/21 in the finals of the Asia Cup 2023.
During the Pre-match conference, Cummins responded with a single answer of ‘No’ to whether Australia had plans on countering Siraj’s spell in the upcoming match.
He said that Australia is focused on preparing for the World Cup with various combinations of players.
“Want to strike a balance between getting used to the conditions and getting a few wins under our belts. We don’t want to get to the first game (of the World Cup) under-prepared,” Cummins said.
“We want to try out a few combinations, a few different players but ideally, we have structured the combination we want to go about.
As a captain, I want to get used to how to use my bowlers here. Might be a bit different to South Africa and Australia. Does the second spinner play a part? Hopefully, we’ll get a few answers to that in the next few games.”
Australia had to counter the bowling attacks of Jasprit Bumrah who made his comeback for the Ireland Series where he led the team towards victory. He is the part of India’s squad which won the Asia Cup title.
Players like Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and Mitchell Starc were included in the squad after being rested during the ODI series against South Africa. But Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc will be unavailable for the first match.
On the other hand, India has rested captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Kuldeep Yadav for the first two matches of the series. Axar Patel who have been injured during the match against Bangladesh In the Super Fours of the Asia Cup is also rested. There is a talk between the replacement of the former with Ashwin and Washington Sundar.
India will be playing their first ODI match against Australia on September 22 at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.
