Mohammed Siraj credits Bharat Arun and Morne Morkel for form revival ahead of Australia tour

In the series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, India’s Mohammed Siraj, a speedster, struggled to regain his form. The team management once benched him because they thought Akash Deep was a better fit for the starting lineup. The Hyderabad native, however, regained his lost rhythm in the first Test match against Australia in Perth, taking five wickets in each innings. He will be crucial for the following four Test matches as well, particularly because India wants to guarantee their place in the World Test Championship final.

Regarding his form issues, Mohammed Siraj stated that he recently spoke with former national bowling coach Bharat Arun, who gave him the courage to recover.

Remarkably, Arun, who is now bowling coach for KKR, worked closely with Siraj while he was playing for India and was instrumental in helping him advance his career. Siraj added that he saw fielding coach T Dilip in Hyderabad prior to his trip to Australia, and they discussed how current bowling coach Morne Morkel helped him boost his spirits.

“I could see that I wasn’t having fun bowling. Even if I’m not taking wickets, I personally feel different when I’m having fun. Now that I wasn’t getting wickets, I looked into the reasons a little more. It can be difficult to gain wickets in the five overs [you get as a fast bowler] in India because, as you know, spinners bowl the majority of the overs. I just started to get a little frustrated about why I wasn’t getting wickets. He was cited as stating, “But now I am having a lot of fun.”

“I told Bharat Arun, sir, that this is what’s going on with me. since he’s known me for a long time and has witnessed my bowling in the past. Therefore, he simply advised me to have fun and refrain from chasing wickets. You’ll get wickets if you just have fun. I also met [fielding coach] Dilip sir in Hyderabad prior to my trip, and we worked out together. I am now loving it since it feels amazing. “You are a warrior,” Morne (Morkel) keeps telling me. “Just keep having fun bowling, and you’ll get us wickets,” he continued.

During the warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI, Siraj bowled seven overs and removed Matt Renshaw. He will play a crucial role for the Indian squad when they play Australia in the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide starting on December 6.