The only bowler for India who has played all the games in the series is Mohammed Siraj. And as is the case with him all the time, he has bowled his heart out on Day 3 at Manchester . And one wonders when it comes to Mohammed Siraj what happens to workload management!
Jasprit Bumrah is allowed to pick and choose Test matches. He has already taken a break in Birmingham and possibly will not play at the Oval. Prasidh who played the first two was dropped from the next two. Akash Deep who played Birmingham and Lord’s is injured for Manchester. Only Mohammed Siraj is there for everything. And may we say it is turning into a real worry. Are we doing justice to Mohammed Siraj or is India starting to treat him unfairly because he will never say a word and keep running in for the team.
There was a moment on Day 3 of the Manchester Test when Bumrah, after bowling just one over with the second new ball had left the field. Gill was forced to go to Kamboj who isn’t ready for cricket at this level. Only Mohammed Siraj toiled on and despite the pressure be created, nothing happened because at the other end everything was handed to England on a platter.
Finally Mohammed Siraj lunged forward to field one and injured himself. The grimace on his face said it all as he started to walk back to the pavilion for some treatment. While he did come back after a while and bowled as well, his pace had dropped and he looked visibly tired. Mohammed Siraj, like everyone else, needs to be treated with care. While he has huge reserves of energy and is always on the ball with effort, it is key we understand that he too is human and that he is key to India’s pace bowling reserves in the future.
Following him closely throughtout the series , Sanjay Manjrekar impressed with Mohammed Siraj’s never say die attitude stressed on the fact that Workload management question is out of the box when it comes to Mohammed Siraj.
Sanjay Manjrekar evaluates Mohammed Siraj’s performance in the series
While there are many talks regarding Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management in the England sereis, his partner with the red ball Mohammed Siraj a relentless workhorse for Team India has already bowled 135 overs in the series so far and claimed 14 wickets. While analyzing Mohammed Siraj’s performance, Sanjay Manjrekar told EspnCricinfo that the pacer has limitations, but added that his commitment cannot be questioned.
“Siraj came into this series with lack of form. Within his limitations, he’s done the best that he could. He’s bowled with a lot of spirit. But, he has his limitations. He is not a Mohammad Shami or a Jasprit Bumrah or a Zaheer Khan for that matter,” Manjrekar said.
“I can understand India going for him because they were struggling to find fit players and this is the guy who was fit enough to play and bowl with a lot of keenness,” the former India batter added.
Mohammed Siraj has bowled 26 overs so far in the 1st innings at Manchester and has claimed one wicket of Chris Woakes giving 113 runs in his stipulated spell .
At the time of writing one can easily say that Mohammed Siraj looks tired. He has done everything in this series and while he doesn’t have the rewards to show for it, we can easily say that in Birmingham and at Lord’s he was simply brilliant.
The point is while trying to protect Bumrah we shouldn’t sacrifice Mohammed Siraj. Long term he is as important and frankly this is unfair. As I finish the piece Mohammed Siraj has just sprinted across at deep cover and saved a boundary. That’s him. He will run in all day, push himself all day, keep coming at you all day and never say a word. May be that’s why he is taken for granted at times. And it is something India can ill afford.
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