ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Jasprit Bumrah To Replace Mohammed Siraj In India's XI Against Namibia?

Mohammed Siraj out, Jasprit Bumrah in? Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patil certainly thinks so as India take on Namibia in their second match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Thursday, February 12.

After being initially left out of India's squad, Siraj had planned a pre-Indian Premier League holiday in Europe with a Real Madrid match on his to-do list.

But the Indian selectors denied Hyderabadi the break and summoned him to join the national team.

"Surya bhai (skipper Suryakumar Yadav) called me. He said, 'Get ready, pack your bag, and come.' I said, 'Surya bhai, don't joke, because this is not going to happen.' He said, 'I'm telling you the truth - get ready'," the 31-year-old was quoted as saying. "As soon as he hung up, I got a call from (Pragyan) Ojha, the national selector. So suddenly, I got shocking news."

Added to the 15-member World Cup squad only on the eve of India's tournament opener as a replacement for Harshit Rana, who suffered a knee injury during the warm-up match against South Africa, there was no certainty that he would be playing against the United States of America.

Yet, he ended up playing a crucial role in the hard-fought 29-run win in Mumbai. With Jasprit Bumrah indisposed, Siraj was drafted into the playing XI, and he returned with figures of 3/29. This was his first T20I after 557 days.

Now that Bumrah has been declared fit, Siraj is likely to warm the bench again. The last time he played back-to-back T20 games for India was in July 2024, against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.

"Bumrah walks in place of Siraj. Siraj had a good game [vs USA], but India's main playing eleven had Bumrah in it," Patel said while speaking on JioStar's ‘Game Plan’.

In the game against the USA, pacers Siraj and Arshdeep Singh led India's defence with a disciplined bowling performance, sharing five wickets for a combined 47 runs in eight overs. Arshdeep, the younger of the two, remains a starter in the shortest format.

"It is good that Siraj got an opportunity and did really well. If something happens to any of India’s seamers, which we certainly do not wish for, Mohammed Siraj will be ready. However, he will make way for Jasprit Bumrah if Bumrah is fit," Patel added.

India's Likely Playing XI against Namibia

Sanju Samson (if Abhishek Sharma doesn't recover), Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Siraj, and Varun Chakravarthy.