At the end of day three, as Mohammed Siraj wrapped up a memorable six-wicket haul, teammate Arshdeep Singh interrupted his interview saying, “Now the dialogue has to change to ‘I believe in Jassi Bhai and myself.’”
Singh’ statement shows it’s time Indian cricket believes in Siraj as much as it believes in Jasprit Bumrah.
On a flat pitch at Edgbaston, where England’s Jamie Smith and Harry Brook made the Indian bowling look ordinary, Siraj stood tall. He had already dismissed Zak Crawley late on Day Two but delivered his most decisive blow on the third morning — removing former captain Joe Root and current skipper Ben Stokes off successive deliveries. It was a crucial double-strike that gave India a way back into the game.
With the second new ball, Siraj swept through the tail, finishing with career-best figures of 6/70 in 19.2 overs. Akash Deep, claimed the remaining four wickets.
Siraj even bowled outside off stump to give Akash a shot at a maiden five-wicket haul — a gesture that revealed the team-first mindset of a man rarely given the limelight.
While Bumrah is praised — as India’s spearhead across formats — Siraj has been the unyielding workhorse. No rest days, no workload management, no reduced spells. If the team needs 20 overs from one end, Siraj delivers. If they need a breakthrough, he finds one. Siraj does it — no questions asked.
Critics have often pointed to his inconsistency — his varying lengths, his lean patches — but Siraj has continued to deliver. At 31, he now has four five-wicket hauls in Tests, two of them six-wicket efforts. And perhaps the most telling stat of all — since 2022, Siraj has bowled the most overs across formats by any Indian pacer.
The conversation may drift back to Bumrah’s absence from another Test, but if India is looking for a workhorse, a leader, and a man willing to shoulder the burden without fanfare, they need to start talking more about Mohammed Siraj.
