Mohammed Siraj has brushed aside talk about workload management, saying that he is focused on making most of the opportunity presented to him. Mohammed Siraj has played all the matches so far in the series and has bowled a total of 109 overs. Since Mohammed Siraj made his debut in the Boxing Day Test of 2020, only Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have played more Test matches than his 39 as specialist fast bowlers. Only Cummins, Starc, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada have taken more wickets than his 113.
However, he Mohammed Siraj doesn’t get spoken of in the same breath. Part of it is because he is the only one in the top-five fast bowlers in this period averaging over 30. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 2024-25, Mohammed Siraj looked good but ended up with an underwhelming average of 31.15 in seam-friendly conditions where Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland averaged a tick over 13.
The bowling average alone doesn’t quite capture Mohammed Siraj’s bowling. In all Tests that Siraj has played, pace bowling has picked wickets at an average of 28.29, which puts his 30.88 in a little perspective. On top of that, he has not enjoyed a lot of luck since the start of that Australia tour.
The markers beyond wickets taken only suggest an excellent Test bowler. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Mohammed Siraj drew a false shot every four balls, which is quite healthy, but got a wicket roughly once every ten balls as against others who were doing it every eight balls. His pace doesn’t drop, he has a mix of outswing and the wobble-seam delivery, he keeps hitting the good length, but he is no Bumrah, who can conjure his money in the bank seemingly at will.
Lord’s Test defeat was heartbreaking- Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj is less philosophical when it comes to his batting. At Lord’s, he, the last man, batted for 64 minutes and added 23 runs with Ravindra Jadeja to take India within 22 of the target. His dismissal provided the most iconic image of the series: he on his haunches, having been bowled after middling a back-foot defensive, and the England players cutting short their celebration and checking on him.
Mohammed Siraj admitted it took him time to come to terms with the way things ended at Lord’s, a slow-burn Test that appeared lost on the final day, then teased Indian dreams, and then shut the door in the cruelest fashion. India’s No. 11 had battled for 64 minutes and 29 deliveries that day alongside Ravindra Jadeja, their last-wicket partnership giving India a glimmer of hope. Then came the heartbreak: a solid forward defence against Shoaib Bashir, perfectly middled, only for the ball, kissed with overspin, to roll back and disturb the stumps.
In that instant, the dream dissolved. Mohammed Siraj stood hunched over his bat, the image now etched as one of the defining visuals of the series, not just for its pathos, but for what it represented: resistance, vulnerability, and the fine margins that separate triumph from despair.
“To get out after middling the ball…” Mohammed Siraj said.
“The way we were batting, me and Jaddu bhai, it never felt like I could get out. I had this much confidence from batting there that I could only get out if I made a mistake. Unfortunately, I got out even after middling the ball. That was heartbreaking.”
“At one point, it looked like we would lose by 80 runs. Then we fought hard. We even took it past tea. That hurts more. Had we lost by 80, it would have been fine. To get that close and lose is heartbreaking. But after a while I told myself the series is not yet over. There are still two more Tests. These matches will be fun.”
For Mohammed Siraj, it is more about having to wait for the luck to fall in place. He is aware he hasn’t quite enjoyed the luck in these two series and admits it in the pre match press conference but also confirmed that he will always fight like a warrior when given a choice to bowl for India againa and again.
In that spell against Root on the fourth afternoon, Mohammed Siraj drew nine false shots in 23 balls. He was asked if he goes back and looks at his wickets and wonders if he needs to make changes and perhaps get a little bit fuller or straighter, because when you are judged on results, you can get restless. He is very much like Bumrah in this regard.
“If I go searching, I will leak runs,” he said.
“My plan is to stay consistent and keep hitting the good areas. If I have to get wickets, I will get them from there. If I end up just building pressure instead, it could get us wickets from the opposite end. So at that time the mind doesn’t wander to my wickets.”
There is also something to be said about Moahammed Siraj not having his workload managed because the other bowlers around him always tend to get rotated. While it speaks of Mohammed Siraj’s heart, sometimes a break can do wonders, but he doesn’t have that luxury.
“I am thankful god has kept me healthy, touch wood,” Mohammed Siraj said.
“Workload is one thing, and it goes in the book that Siraj has bowled this many overs, but for me, it is just another opportunity. I want to do well and want to help win matches for the country.
“I want to play as many matches as I can, and all I want is to give my 100%. That when I hit the bed, I shouldn’t feel I could have done more, no matter the results.”
Mohammed Siraj is the leading wicket-taker in this series so far, but he is still averaging 32, which is better than all of England’s mainline quicks, but not as good as Bumrah and Akash Deep. How rewarding it will be if he can turn it around and make match-defining contributions in the remaining matches and be more than just the workhorse that others admire. He has a lot of catching-up to do on the wickets column.
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