Former Indian cricketer and now a commentator, Aakash Chopra, has lauded Mohammed Siraj for his relentless efforts, calling for appreciation for the fast-bowler who has been a true workhorse for the Indian team in the last few years. Siraj’s valiant effort with both bat and ball went in vain after India lost the thriller third Test at Lord’s.
Chopra compared Siraj’s workload with the prime pacers across the world.
“If you see Siraj’s workload over the last two years (since January 1, 2023), you will have to sit back and admire, and appreciate. If you talk about the fast bowlers across the world, he is in the third spot in terms of the number of overs bowled. Pat Cummins (871.3 overs), Mitchell Starc (856.2 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (792.5 overs) are there in that,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
“When we look at it from the Indian point of view, no one has bowled more overs than him. In fact, if we see overall for India, he is in the second spot, only behind Jaddu. Jaddu (990 overs) has bowled nearly 1000 overs, and he has also bowled close to 800. He bowls a lot of overs,” he added.
Chopra went on to say that the Indian team is fortunate to have someone like Siraj in the set-up.
“Ryan ten Doeschate also said that we don’t talk about Siraj enough, but we are fortunate to have him in the team. He gives everything he has. He doesn’t hold back anything. It’s a blessing. If you look at it from a captain’s perspective, many times in Tests, you look towards your bowlers, and fast bowlers turn their backs at times. Mohammed Siraj is not one of them,” said Chopra.
“Not all bowlers might be as skillful as Bumrah, and at times, when you are with Bumrah, you aren’t noticed despite being skillful. You will look inferior whenever you are with an all-time great. Then people will dismiss you. It would have seemed like that when people were playing with Sachin paaji and Virat,” he said.
