Mohammed Siraj lashed out at the detractors of Jasprit Bumrah for his decision to miss two matches in England during the recently ended five-match series between the two sides to manage workload. Siraj, meanwhile, drubbed all five matches, whereas Bumrah was restricted to three games in the 2025 Andeson-Tendulkar Trophy.
In three matches, Bumrah took 14 wickets, bagging two five-fors, but India failed to secure victory in any of those tests. Meanwhile, Siraj remains the only pacer from either team to have bowled in all 10 innings and top the wicket charts (23 wickets) as the Shubman Gill-led side held the series at 2-2, including taking five wickets in both wins at Edgbaston and Oval.
Though many trolled Bumrah, citing Siraj’s workload, the pacer himself termed his new-ball partner the backbone of the Indian team. At 31, he appealed to the fans to get serious about the condition of Bumrah, as one more injury could very well mean Bumrah may never play again.
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“Bumrah bhai doesn’t worry about outside opinion. He had a serious back injury and a big surgery. Had he bowled in that match, one can’t say whether he would have bowled again or not, if he had broken down. It’s that serious. That injury is very sensitive. His bowling action is very difficult.”
“He is such a important bowler for India and his availability is so important – from Asia Cup to next year’s World Cup and so on. Indian fans should understand that he is the backbone of the team and be rest assured that whenever possible, he will definitely play. Jassi bhai took the perfect decision,” he had said talking to The Indian Express.
Siraj further disclosed that Bumrah, ever the sensible one, was given the option of sitting out of the Oval Test due to his heavy workload, and that he too was offered the choice but he felt in the zone, considered that he was at the very top of his ability, and decided to step up and play another game.
“Shubman asked me, ‘Kaisi hai teri body?’ I replied, ‘Ekdum first-class.’ He asked me if I would play. I said yeah. He said, you are the main bowler for us like Jasprit Bumrah, you decide. I said I’m available and am 100 per cent fit. I will give it everything.”
“As for my body being tired, to be honest, I would have played one more Test if it was there. I didn’t feel tired. But I was in a zone. When you enter that zone, you don’t know what you are doing, but just have that feeling that I have to do something here,” Siraj further added.
