Former India cricketer hails Siraj for stepping up in Bumrah’s absence

LONDON: Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on Friday lauded fast bowler Mohammed Siraj for significantly improving his performance in the absence of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra praised Siraj’s ability to bowl long spells and maintain intensity, even when the conditions or match situation turned against him.

“Siraj might go for a few runs, but he sticks to his plan of bowling longer spells, and that’s the key to his success in taking wickets,” Chopra said.

The former cricketer highlighted an interesting statistic, pointing out that Siraj’s bowling average is 35.00 when Bumrah plays, but it improves dramatically to 25.59 whenever he leads the attack without his senior partner.

“He raises his game when Bumrah isn’t there. The start wasn’t good; they were getting hit. When we were playing, it seemed like a green top and batting looked very difficult, but when they came, it seemed like it had become a road. 

"They were hitting at seven to eight runs per over. That was dangerous,” Chopra explained.

Chopra acknowledged that Siraj is not immune to occasional off days. 

“He might not always bowl perfectly, sometimes straying down the leg side or conceding runs at a higher economy rate. 

"These things can happen to anyone. But have you ever seen him bowl at 70 percent? Has there ever been a time when Siraj didn’t give his absolute best?” he concluded.

For the unversed, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten half-century after four-wicket hauls from pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna led India’s ample fightback on the second day of the fifth Test against England here at The Oval on Friday.

At the stumps on day two, the touring side were 75/2, leading by 52 runs, with opener Jaiswal and nightwatchman Akash Deep unbeaten on 51 and four, respectively.

India had a shaky start to their second innings as their opening pair put together 46 runs before KL Rahul was caught at first slip by Joe Root off Josh Tongue. He scored a scratchy seven off 28 deliveries.

Jaiswal was then involved in a brief 24-run partnership for the second wicket with Sai Sudharsan, who fell victim to Gus Atkinson after scoring 11.