Second Test: Six-star Siraj makes a case to emerge out of Bumrah’s shadow

An interesting piece of information was dug up by the official broadcasters after Mohammed Siraj’s career-best haul of 6/70 in the Edgbaston Test on Friday. For all the criticism Miyan (as Virat Kohli calls him) cops from time to time for not being responsible enough despite being the senior-most pacer in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, records reveal that Siraj performs much better in the absence of Bumrah.

Just ponder this: he has an average of 33.82 for his 69 wickets from 33 Tests, including one fifer, while playing alongside Bumrah. The average surprisingly goes down to 25.20 without Bumrah in 15 Tests where he has bagged 39 scalps — which begs the question if he is often pilloried without good enough reason.     

“It’s Akash Deep’s third or fourth match, same for Prasidh, so I was just focused on staying consistent and building pressure. I feel like trying different things, but I have to stay consistent… I love responsibility, I love the challenge,’’ a relieved Siraj told TV pundit Deep Dasgupta after he and Akash Deep (4/88) brought India back into the game with the second new ball. 

A lot of credit is due for Akash Deep too, the nippy right-arm paceman from Bengal, who may be no rookie on the domestic scene but got his break in the second Test only because Bumrah was rested.

Speaking after the day’s play, Akash Deep candidly admitted that he was not sure of playing in the next Test at Lord’s, but going by his Birmingham show, he should stay on in place of the profligate Prasiddh Krishna.

The jumma day certainly belonged to Siraj as he entered his name in the record books by becoming the first Indian bowler to take a six-wicket haul in a Test against England as well as South Africa, two of the SENA countries.

A total of eight Indians — Ishant Sharma, Amar Singh, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Chetan Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dilip Doshi, Bishan Singh Bedi and Siraj — have claimed six or more English wickets in one innings of a Test in England while seven — Shardul Thakur, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Bumrah, Javagal Srinath, Ravindra Jadeja and Siraj — have picked up a six-wicket haul in South Africa, but Siraj is the only common name in both lists.

The six-wicket haul in Edgbaston has seemingly changed perceptions about him overnight in the fickle social media world. Suddenly, there is chatter about how the 31-year-old Hyderabadi is all heart with an unquestionable commitment to the country (remember when a debutant Siraj decided to stay on with the team in Australia in the 2020-21 series despite learning of his father’s death) or how he is not fazed about his own ‘workload’ ever.

Looking at the bigger picture, it’s crunch-time in Siraj’s Test career at a time when going forward, Bumrah will not be available for all games and Shami’s return to international cricket is mired in uncertainty. As the so-called third pacer in the team until now, Siraj was used to blowing hot-and-cold — exceptional in spells with the new ball to come up with a cluster of wickets but pedestrian when brought back in subsequent spells with the old ball when the rival batters were set.

More of an instinctive performer, he has to realise that dream dismissals like the way he took out Ben Stokes on Friday will not happen every day. It’s during those long, unrewarding phases in a Test match that Siraj has to think about setting up a batter with a probing line and length and, of course, reverse swing. There are enough knowledgable people around, from Bumrah himself to bowling coach Morne Morkel, if picking brains is what he's after.

It’s high time Siraj raised the bar for himself and silenced doubters for good.