Mohammed Siraj has led the Indian pace assault admirably at the Oval in his absence. In order to manage Jasprit Bumrah’s workload, the Indian team decided to leave him out of the squad for the current fifth and final Test match between India and England at the KIA Oval in London. The seasoned bowler took 14 wickets in three Test matches.
Siraj helped India limit the hosts to 247 with a four-for in England’s opening innings. Following the conclusion of Day 2’s play, Siraj disclosed that as he was leaving the team, he had asked Bumrah who he would embrace following his five-wicket haul. Bumrah responded by telling him to simply accept the five-for and head back to India.
“I told Jassi bhai (Jasprit Bumrah), ‘Why are you leaving, bhaiya? If I take a five-wicket haul, who am I going to hug?’ So he said, ‘I’m right here only. You just take five wickets.’ That’s the kind of conversation we’ve had,” said Siraj while talking to the BCCI.
Siraj rose to the top of the list of the series’ top wicket-takers because to his outstanding ball-handling ability. He has taken 18 wickets at an average of 35.67 and a strike rate of 51.78 in five Test matches. According to the Hyderabad pacer, bowling in England is enjoyable because seamers receive a lot of assistance.
“Everyone loves playing in England because there’s more swing and the wickets here are helpful for fast bowlers. Like you said, being the highest wicket-taker — it feels really good. But the more matches we win, the better that will shine through,” said Siraj.
To give it your all, regardless of the outcome—Siraj’s perspective
The 31-year-old Siraj said that since he was a little child, his only philosophy has been to give it his all without considering the outcome.
“From childhood till now, there’s been a lot of hard work to reach this point. But I always have just one mindset — to give 100 percent, whatever the result may be,” said Siraj.
India has taken a 52-run lead and is at 75/2 in their second innings. On Day 3, Akash Deep and Yashasvi Jaiswal will resume the Indian innings.
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