Desk Report,
Mohammad Siraj: Bumrah-less India’s last hope
Morne Morkel calls Mohammad Siraj a ‘nation leader’. Former South African pacer Morkel is currently India’s pace bowling coach. It is natural for him to praise any bowler on his team when they do well.
Mohammad Siraj: Bumrah-less India’s last hope
But when the biggest star of the opposing team praises Siraj, perhaps his performance is fully appreciated. England’s Joe Root called the Indian pacer a ‘true warrior’. It is worth saying. Whenever someone thinks that India’s bowling attack without Jasprit Bumrah is like a toothless tiger, Siraj proves him wrong.
Take the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which is ending today. The Indian team management has rested the injured Bumrah for two matches in this five-Test series. Siraj has shown flashes with the ball in both the two matches in which Bumrah is not present. This pacer gave India its first taste of a Test win on this ground by taking 7 wickets at Edgbaston. He has also taken 6 wickets so far in the ongoing Test at the Oval.
Is that all? In this series of players getting injured, Siraj is the only pacer who has played all five Tests without injury. He is the highest wicket-taker in the series with 20 wickets, and has also bowled the most overs (181.2) in the series.
Chris Woakes has also played in all the Tests of the series. But he could not keep himself injury-free. He suffered a serious injury to his left shoulder while diving to block a boundary on the first day of the Test at The Oval last Thursday. After bowling 14 overs in the first innings, this England pace bowling all-rounder could not take the field again.
England need 35 more runs today to win the series 3-1. India will have to take 4 wickets to win the match and end the series 2-2. Although control is still in England’s hands, Siraj will take advantage of the cloudy weather in London to win the match, and India’s supporters are certainly hoping that.
However, Siraj was dropped from the Indian team after the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy. After the T20 and ODI series against England at home, he did not make it to the ICC Champions Trophy team either. However, Siraj did not give up. He continued to practice regularly to return to the team. In the last IPL, he made it to the team again by answering with the ball in his hand.
Statistics say that Siraj has done well in Tests without Bumrah. The 31-year-old Siraj has taken 120 wickets in his 41 Test career so far. In the 25 matches in which he had Bumrah as his bowling partner, Siraj’s wickets per innings were 1.57. Average 35.00, economy rate 3.65. In the 16 matches in which Bumrah was not there, his wickets per innings were 1.59. Average 26.54, economy rate 3.41.
India’s new Test captain Shubman Gill has tried his best to bring a breakthrough whenever he has handed the ball to Siraj in the hope of getting a wicket in this series. Sometimes he has succeeded, sometimes he has not. But his attitude has always been like that of a natural pacer. He also counted the fine for showing excessive aggression. However, he took this ‘money deduction’ for the team as a matter of course.
Siraj has had such a warrior spirit for a long time. In several Tests that Bumrah did not play, his bowling has tilted the fate of the match in India’s favor.
One of these was the Brisbane Test in 2021. He made his Test debut with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But after going to Australia, news came that Siraj’s auto-rickshaw driver father Mohammad Ghaus had died!
It was the time of Corona. Once you leave the bio-security zone, if you want to return again, you will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Thinking of that, you did not go to see your father for the last time. He played in that series with a stone in his chest. In Bumrah’s absence in Brisbane, he contributed to India winning a Test series for the first time on Australian soil by taking 6 wickets.
The Port of Spain Test in 2023 can also be mentioned. Siraj had destroyed the West Indies in the first innings by taking 5 wickets on a relatively batting-friendly wicket. In that Test, India had set the Caribbeans a target of 365 runs. With 8 wickets in hand, the West Indies needed 291 more runs on the last day. But due to rain, not a single ball was bowled that day and the match was drawn.
However, Indian fans will not forget the 2024 Cape Town Test, with Siraj’s best bowling in his Test career, Bumrah as his bowling partner. Siraj bowled South Africa out for just 55 runs in the first innings, which is their lowest score in Tests this century. Siraj took 6 wickets for 15 runs. India won that Test and drew the series.
Then came the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. It has already been said that Bumraheen would become Siraj’s hero with the ball in the Edgbaston Test. He will definitely want to repeat that at the Oval today. He could have been a hero with the bat in this series of many twists and turns. He almost brought about a historic victory in the last wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja at Lord’s. But despite blocking Shoaib Bashir’s ball well, he unfortunately got bowled. As a result, instead of a batting heroics, he had to be the supporting hero of a tragedy.
However, Siraj may have to take some of the blame if India loses the series today. Siraj gave Harry Brooke his ‘life’ yesterday when he was on 19 runs. Brooke pulled a short length ball from Prasidh Krishna. But due to the timing not being right, the ball went to Siraj standing at long leg. Although he palmed the ball properly, he could not maintain his balance. His right foot touched the boundary. Well, in addition to getting ‘life’, Brooke also got a six. That Brooke was later out for 111 runs off 98 balls.
But only humans make mistakes. This mistake of Siraj’s may also be viewed with a forgivable eye. He has already won everyone’s hearts!
