Mohammed Siraj’s fitness in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar trophy has been quite brilliant. More than his bowling, the thing that stood out the most has been his ability to run in and bowl without a drop in pace day in and day out. He bowled 185.3 overs in the series and ended up as the leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets. Former England cricketer David Gower has been appreciative of Siraj’s work in the series.
“I would love to know what he takes, what he eats and what he drinks because I want to give all that to England’s bowlers. For Siraj, one of the things that struck me was he has played all five Tests and was unstinting. Yet, he bowled more than 30 overs in that England second innings (Oval) because seamers had to bowl in those conditions. And he never gave up. He never stopped and never seemed to wilt,” Gower told The Free Press Journal.
“That’s an extraordinary testament to his determination to win and fitness. The thing that struck me was England’s bowling has had problems over the last few years in keeping people fit and on the field. So, you rarely get the same attack coming out game after game and yet, here was a man who played all five Test matches, finished bowling 30 overs in the final innings of the series and loved it,” he added.
Workload management needed
“Workload management will be crucial to prevent Siraj from getting injured in the future,” RP Singh said speaking to PTI Basha. “Fast bowlers are at higher risk of injury when they play too many matches in a short time. His workload should be managed just like we did with Bumrah.” Giving the example of Jasprit Bumrah Singh said, “It’s because of better workload management, Bumrah bowled brilliantly in both ODI and T20 World Cups. “Siraj is also in the same league. To protect him from injuries, we need to seriously focus on his workload, sooner or later.”
“Siraj was the only bowler who played all five Tests and bowled with full energy and intensity in each match,” noted Singh. “The last ball of the series, which bowled out the batsman, was one of his top five fastest deliveries in the series.” Siraj delivered a 143 kmph yorker to clean up Gus Atkinson and seal India’s win in the fifth Test. It was the fifth-fastest ball he bowled in the series.”
