Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has raised concern regarding the poor form of Mohammed Siraj in the red-ball cricket. Manjrekar feels that Siraj has not been up to the mark in Test cricket recently and must be shown his figures; the team needs to address this concern as early as possible. Manjrekar also hinted at Akash Deep's potential inclusion in the second Test against New Zealand which is scheduled to be played in Pune. Despite the seam-friendly conditions in Bengaluru, Akash Deep was left out of the first Test squad. India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, acknowledged his misjudgment of the pitch, which didn’t work in India’s favor. India opted for a spin-heavy attack, choosing left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav over Akash Deep. Also Read: CSK CEO Gives an Update on MS Dhoni IPL 2025 Retention In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out Mohammed Siraj’s concerning form and that the team had expected more from him, especially given the pitch’s assistance to fast bowlers. The former cricketer feels that Siraj has all the required abilities but does not have the form behind him. "Give Siraj that impression that we are concerned about your form and that should be enough because he is a trier, he has got some skills, but somewhere, you tend to think and feel that he is flying under the radar a little bit with his returns.” Manjrekar suggested that the Indian team management should point out Siraj's recent numbers to him. He further said: "I think somewhere the team management or anyone has to sort of bring that into focus and that should be the way to get him back in because there aren't too many around who you can say are definitely better than Mohammed Siraj." The Indian team will be eager to bounce back in the second Test of the three-match series, which is set to take place in Pune starting on October 24.