Former England captain David Gower has been impressed by Mohammed Siraj’s never-say-die mentality during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which concluded recently. The Hyderabad pacer played all five Tests and bowled each period with the same tenacity and dedication.
Siraj was the top wicket-taker in the series with 23 wickets in five tests averaging 32.43. In the fourth Test match of the overall five-match series at The Oval, the right-arm fast bowler registered a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings to enable India to overcome England by a margin of only six runs which resulted in a 2-2 draw.
Gower was taken aback by Siraj’s fitness and perseverance throughout the five matches, and even advised that England’s bowlers adopt his diet.
“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.”
David Gower
“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.”
David Gower
Siraj was used ahead at bowling, particularly in the second and the fifth Tests at Birmingham and London when talisman No. 1 in bowling Jasprit Bumrah was not playing. The 31-year-old never stopped in the ears of the youngsters such as Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna and gave useful messages on how to do it best.
