India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj credited pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for helping him turnaround his form at the start of the ongoing tour of Australia.
Siraj managed just two wickets across a pair of appearances during India’s home series debacle against New Zealand prior to the tour Down Under, but looked back to his best in the opening Test against Australia in Perth when he collected five scalps to fashion India’s 295-run win that was crucial for his side to stay relevant in the ICC World Test Championship final race.
It was Siraj’s first five-wicket match haul in a Test since he claimed seven scalps in a Player of the Match performance in India’s first Test match of 2024 against South Africa in Cape Town and bodes well for the fiery right-armer as the Asian side attempts to qualify for a third straight World Test Championship Final at Lord’s next year.
Siraj said it was a chat with stand-in skipper and No.1 ranked Test bowler Bumrah prior to the Australia series that motivated him for the series opener in Perth.
“I always keep talking to Jassi bhai (Bumrah),” Siraj said.
“Even before the first match, I spoke with him about what I was going through. And he just told me one thing – don’t run (chase) after wickets, just keep bowling consistently in one area and enjoy your bowling. If you still don’t get wickets, then you come ask me. So I enjoyed my bowling and I got wickets as well.
“Australia is a place where a fast bowler enjoys because you get pace and bounce. As a fast bowler, you get everything you want. So you get a different kind of confidence to come and enjoy your bowling here,” he added.
After the wicket drought in the past three months, Siraj also turned to former India bowling coach Bharat Arun to help find his centre.
“I spoke with Bharat Arun sir, that this is what’s happening with me,” Siraj said.
“Because he has known me for a while and he has seen my bowling from a long time back. So he just told me to enjoy and not run after wickets. Just enjoy and you’ll get wickets. And before travelling, I met [fielding coach] Dilip sir in Hyderabad and we practiced together as well. So it felt good and now I’m enjoying it.
“Morne (Morkel), India’s current bowling coach keeps telling me that ‘you are a warrior’. ‘You’ll get us wickets, but you just keep enjoying your bowling’,” Siraj added.
Siraj collected the wicket of former Australian Test batter Matthew Renshaw during a pink-ball contest against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra on Sunday and will look to build on that performance when the Test series against the Aussies continues in Adelaide on Friday.
“This (pink) ball has a synthetic feeling, This is different to the red ball we play with. There can be a bit of confusion due to the ball, but it’s just one match so we just have to focus on that and practice for it and we’ll improve day-by-day. The seam is very hard. It’s bright, and quite big. The more you practice with it, the better you get,” he said.
It will be India’s first pink-ball Test in Australia since they were bundled out for just 36 during the second innings of the opening Test of their most recent series Down Under in 2020, but Siraj believes his side is better prepared for the conditions the team will face this time around.
“I think that with the pink-ball, it’s better to bowl back of length. Because pitching it up, there’s not a lot of swing, so the more you hit the deck and get it to seam, it will be better for us,” Siraj noted.
“I have heard that the ball swings a lot under the lights but I haven’t yet bowled with it under lights. So when we go to Adelaide and practice, we will try that. And the more practice we get, we’ll know more about what we have to do,” the Hyderabadi pacer added.
After going 1-0 up in the five-Test rubber for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India will hope to put behind the demons of the “36 all out” in Adelaide in their effort to take a 2-0 lead in the series.