ENG vs IND: Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has literally put his body on the line for the Indian cricket team on this Test tour of England. No other bowler dished out more overs and picked up more wickets than the Hyderabad pacer in the just-concluded series.
His lion-hearted effort helped Team India pull off a memorable victory at The Oval, beating England by six wickets in an edge-of-the-seat thriller, to level the series 2-2.
India’s Real Workhorse
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Siraj bowled 185.3 overs across five Tests and finished the series as the highest-wicket taker with 23 scalps to his name. Before the start of the series, the focus was entirely on Jasprit Bumrah, but Siraj made sure that India were equally potent without their pace spearhead.
Mohammed Siraj: An Underrated Warrior
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Even after working like an absolute workhorse every time he puts on the Indian jersey, one poor game and people start questioning his place in the Indian team.
Despite all the criticism that falls his way, mainly from the Indian cricket fans, Siraj continues to put in the hard yards, playing second fiddle when Jasprit Bumrah is playing and leading the attack in his absence. His numbers over the last few years are enough to prove that he enjoys taking responsibility and becomes a different beast whenever Bumrah isn’t playing.
Joe Root’s Assessment of Siraj
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It’s fascinating that while his own are overly critical of Siraj’s skills, legends from other countries can see what most Indians don’t. Until his match-winning spell in the final Test, Indian fans didn’t give him enough credit that he deserved.
Even before Siraj orchestrated an epic finish to this iconic Test series, England legend Joe Root offered a beautiful insight into Siraj’s character, better than most Indian fans ever could.
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Even though England were in the driver’s seat heading into Day 5, with only 35 runs needed, Root lavished massive praise on Siraj, describing him as a player whom any skipper would love to have in their team.
“He [Siraj] is someone that you want on your team. He is that kind of character. He gives everything for India, and it is credit to him for that, the way he approaches cricket. He has got this fake anger about him sometimes, which I can see straight through.
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“You can tell he is actually a really nice lad. But he tries incredibly hard. He is a very skilful player,” Root told reporters after Day 4 of Oval Test.
“There is a reason why he's got the wickets he has, because one, his work ethic and two, his skill level. I enjoy playing against him. He always has a big smile on his face, and he will give everything for his team. I guess you could not want anything more of that as a fan watching, and a great example to any young player starting out,” he added.
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These compliments, coming from Root, a modern-day great of the game, show how far Siraj has come in his cricket career. From getting trolled incessantly for bowling poorly in the IPL to earning the respect of England’s greatest ever run-scorer, Siraj’s rise has been truly remarkable.
While many Indian fans, including yours truly, have been guilty of mistaking Siraj’s aggression as a liability, Root’s remarks show that he understood the Indian pacer better than most of us.
