Mohammed Siraj, who took the most wickets in the five-Test series, was the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy hero against England. In the fifth and final Test at the Oval, the right-arm bowler took 23 wickets and assisted India in defeating the hosts by a record six runs. To help Shubman Gill’s India win the series against all odds, the 31-year-old took five wickets in the second innings of the final game.
Ajinkya Rahane, who had guided India to a historic triumph over Australia in the 2020–21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was full of praise for Siraj, claiming that the pacer’s fury and rage inspired him to play his best cricket.
In the historic 2020–21 series, which India won 2-1, Siraj made his Test debut under Rahane against Australia. Additionally, the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) had a story to tell about how one of his captaincy moves in his inaugural series had irritated Siraj.
“What I like about Siraj is that he always likes to bowl longer spells. Even in the 2020-21 series, he was willing to do that with the same intensity. In Australia, when he was making his debut, he was angry because I had introduced him into the attack very late,” said Ajinkya Rahane on his YouTube channel.
“He still has the anger inside him. This anger brings out the best in Mohammed Siraj. We saw in the England series. The aggression in his bowling and the intensity with which he bowls, he is always warmed up by the time he bowls his first ball. This is the great quality of a great bowler,” he added.
