India speedster Mohammed Siraj is currently featuring in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 was going through a lean patch in red-ball cricket before the first Test match against Australia. In his last outing against New Zealand, the 30-year-old speedster just picked up two wickets in six innings.
Siraj who was struggling with the ball made a comeback in Australia during the Perth Test as he picked up five wickets in two innings. India's bowling dominance helped the team secure a massive 295-run victory over the home team. Now the 'Men in Blue' are preparing for the second Test match which will be a pink ball Day/night clash.
Siraj who made his Test debut in Australia is all set to feature in Rohit Sharma-led India for the pink ball clash revealed how India Test vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah helped him to regain his form.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took their 'X' formerly known as Twitter where the India star was speaking about his comeback and his conversation with India's former bowling coach and Bumrah.
"I am happy with the way I bowled here and at Perth. Over the last few months, I felt I wasn’t getting enough wickets and, in that desperation, a bit of my line and length was affected. I thought deeply about this and I understood that when I enjoy my bowling, then the wickets usually follow. I am in that stage again now.” Siraj said.
“Jassy-bhai (Bumrah) told me to focus on being consistent instead of worrying about wickets. I also had a chat with Bharat Arun (India’s former bowling coach) and he too said the same thing, to focus on my skills instead of worrying about wickets.” Siraj said in a video shared by BCCI.
Siraj said that the bounce in Australian conditions plays a huge role in Test matches and it also distracts bowlers to shift from their plans.
“Because the bounce is so good, at times you may feel like striking the helmet of a batter. The point is not to be excited and just bow to your plans.” Siraj said.
The upcoming Adelaide Test is going to be a special one. The cricket world is set to experience the pink ball Test between India and Australia. The pink ball is a different challenge for both batters and bowlers. Siraj talked about the challenges of the upcoming match.
“As for the pink ball, you feel a bit synthetic while holding it but other than that there is not much of a difference. They say it moves around under lights but we bowled first here, maybe we will get that feel at Adelaide during the second Test.” Siraj added.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
