Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on pacer Mohammed Siraj for his standout performance in the ongoing fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval.
Siraj was instrumental in India bundling out England for 247 in their first innings on Day 2, finishing with figures of 4 for 86.
Following the second day’s play, Chopra highlighted Siraj’s ability to lead the attack in the absence of senior partner Jasprit Bumrah.
“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 in a YouTube video.
The former opener highlighted an interesting statistic: Mohammed Siraj averages 35.00 when playing alongside Bumrah, but that number significantly drops to 25.59 when he leads the attack without Bumrah.
“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.
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“They were hitting at seven to eight runs per over. That was dangerous,” Chopra explained.
“He raises his game when Bumrah isn’t there. The start wasn’t great; they were getting hit,” Chopra remarked.
“It looked like a green top when we were batting, but when England came in, it looked like a road. They were scoring at seven to eight runs per over; that was dangerous.”
While acknowledging that Mohammed Siraj isn’t flawless, Chopra stressed that effort has never been in question.
“He might not always bowl perfectly, sometimes straying down the leg side or conceding runs at a higher economy rate,” he added.
“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?”
