NEW DELHI: India have been forced into a change ahead of their upcoming T20I tours of Ireland and England, with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj Ruled out as part of a workload management plan. The BCCI announced on Tuesday that Siraj has been advised to take a period of rest following discussions between the board’s medical team and the team management.According to the board, the decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the pacer is fully recovered before a busy international season. Siraj was originally part of India’s revamped T20I squad, which will be led by newly-appointed captain Shreyas Iyer. To fill the vacancy, the Men’s Selection Committee has drafted in Prasidh Krishna for both the Ireland and England series. The tall Karnataka pacer returns to the T20I setup after impressing in domestic and franchise cricket and will now have an opportunity to strengthen his case in India’s pace attack.As reported earlier by TimesofIndia.com, Siraj was initially slated to be rested for the one-off Test against Afghanistan as part of workload management plans, but he eventually featured in the contest in Mullanpur alongside Krishna as India’s two frontline pacers. Siraj made a useful contribution with the bat, scoring a quickfire 22 off 12 balls as India declared at 564/8 before registering the biggest victory in their Test history — by an innings and 300 runs. With the ball, Siraj returned figures of 0/29 in the first innings and 1/11 in the second, bowling nine overs and four overs respectively.The development comes days after the selectors unveiled a new-look T20I squad as India begin preparations for the next major ICC events, including the 2028 T20 World Cup and the Los Angeles Olympics. Shreyas was handed the captaincy, replacing Suryakumar Yadav, while Tilak Varma was named vice-captain.One of the biggest talking points from the squad announcement was the inclusion of teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old earned his maiden India call-up after a remarkable IPL 2026 campaign and could become the youngest player to debut for India’s men’s team if he features during the tour.The squad also includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Prince Yadav.India will begin their tour with two T20Is against Ireland in Belfast on June 26 and June 28 before traveling to England for a five-match T20I series from July 1 to July 11. With Siraj rested and Prasidh Krishna stepping in, the selectors will be keen to assess their pace-bowling depth ahead of a packed calendar.
