Siraj set to spearhead India’s pace attack in Lanka

Mohammed Siraj will lead India’s pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah during the two-Test Sri Lanka series. With spin expected to dominate, Siraj’s experience, intensity and ability to deliver crucial breakthroughs could prove decisive for India

Galle: Spinners running amok on the slow turners in Galle and Colombo has been the dominant theme in the build-up to the two Tests between India and Sri Lanka, starting here Saturday.

While it is not far off the truth, one bowler will be eager to write his own script across the next fortnight or so — Mohammed Siraj.

---

In the absence of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj will have to assume the lead role, besides handholding Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar.

It’s not precisely an unfamiliar place for Siraj, for he has stepped up to the plate several times when Bumrah was either rested or injured.

A quick rewind to last year’s Birmingham Test against England will attest that statement.

Siraj produced a match-defining spell of six for 70 in the first innings when Bumrah was absent because of his workload management.

Siraj bowled a staggering 1113 balls in that series, picking up 23 wickets, but here the 32-year-old will certainly not have to deliver that many balls.

But his role will not be any less significant in the series against the Islanders.

It’s a bit of an anomaly but Siraj shines even brighter when Bumrah is not operating from the other end.

Bowling alongside the phenom, Siraj has taken 90 wickets from 29 Tests, and averages 32.

However, in the 17 Tests where he was the lead bowler, Siraj has taken 50 wickets and average plummets to a creditable 25.4.

Siraj loves attention but he does not have the main character syndrome.

“He has always been a tough competitor. He does not shy away from a challenge. It comes from his tennis ball background where you need to bowl many overs continuously.

“Of course, once he joined the Indian team, he has worked tirelessly over his fitness, and he can bowl one or last ball of the day with the same intensity. That way he has not changed at all,” says Mohammed Mahboob Ahmed, who mentored Siraj at the Charminar Cricket Club in Hyderabad.

Intensity will be Siraj’s biggest asset in the upcoming two-match series where pitches will not offer him much assistance, nor will there be too much for him in the humid Lankan air save for the initial hour.

But he will have to overcome it with his characteristic zest to be the leader when top dog Bumrah is absent.

Siraj can combine stock and shock to telling effect even on benign tracks. He has this uncanny knack to produce a breakthrough when it is absolutely necessary.

It could be a magic incoming delivery that leaves the batters completely short of an answer, or a common-placed full length ball that at times can fetch an inside edge. All these could be his weapons against the Lankans here.

Add to it his ability to conjure some lusty blows down the order with the bat, and Siraj transforms into a compelling package.

Recently, the Hyderabad man hammered three sixes in a row to carry India to win over a Sri Lanka Cricket XI in a warm-up match in Colombo.

More than his ability, it symbolises his will to win at any cost and from any circumstances.

“Bachpan se hi woh aisa hi tha (He was like that from his younger days). Never liked defeat or never accepted defeat. He will lead from the front if the team finds itself in a pressure situation,” says Mahboob.

In the next 18 days, India will find themselves in deep pockets of pressure against a team which knows how to win in home conditions. Siraj could be India’s secret trump card.