Home
India pacer Mohammed Siraj has revealed that the back injury that Jasprit Bumrah had sustained during the Border-Gavaskar series 2024/25 against Australia was quite serious and if the latter would have played more matches in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, then there is no guarantee if he would have bowled ever again. Notably, Bumrah had to face a lot of flak after he had missed two Tests out of five against England in order to properly manage his workload.
Siraj stated that Bumrah doesn't think too much about the 'outside opinion' and defended his decision of not playing all the Tests in the England series. Bumrah had missed the second and fifth Test of the assignment and coincidentally, those were the two matches that the Men in Blue won.
"Bumrah bhai doesn't worry about outside opinion. He had a serious back injury and a big surgery. Had he bowled in that match, one can’t say whether he would have bowled again or not, if he had broken down. It’s that serious. That injury is very sensitive. His bowling action is very difficult. He is such an important bowler for India and his availability is so important – from Asia Cup to next year’s World Cup and so on," Siraj said at The Idea Exchange by The Indian Express.
"Indian fans should understand that he is the backbone of the team and be rest assured that whenever possible, he will definitely play. Jassi bhai took the perfect decision," he added.
How many wickets did Siraj take in Oval Test?
On the other hand, Siraj also opened up on his match-winning performance against England in the fifth Test at The Oval. The 31-year-old had massively helped Shubman Gill & Co. in recording a 6-run victory over the hosts in the final match. His fiery spell of 5/104 in the final innings saw India level the series at 2-2 and finish the assignment on a high.
“It was a script written for me from somewhere up there. From getting bowled in Lords (the Test that India lost), then reaching the Oval. Then I took a catch (of Harry Brook) and touched the boundary," Siraj stated.
Siraj on fire vs West Indies
Meanwhile, Siraj continued his fine form with the ball in the first Test of the two-match series against West Indies. He picked up seven scalps in the match and played a key role in bundling out Roston Chase & Co. for 162 and 146 in the first and second innings respectively. He will be looking to take more scalps in the second Test that is set to begin from October 10.
ADVERTISEMENT
