Mohammed Siraj reveals he could’ve played more than 5 Tests in England

Mohammed Siraj has never been one to shy from bowling his heart out. In his recent chat with The Indian Express, he revealed something that would make you sit up and applaud the courage and grit of the star pacer. Being a workhorse he is, Siraj said had there been a sixth Test in England this year, he believes he would’ve played it. That’s quite bold of him, especially after a tour that left him battered but extraordinary.

Siraj was India’s highest wicket-taker in that series, collecting 23 scalps over 185.3 overs, with an average of around 32.43. He took the most wickets, bowed the most overs and improved with each passing Test. In the drama-soaked final Test at The Oval, he ripped through England’s lower order, claiming nine in that match alone and leading India to a legendary six-run win that sealed the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy as a 2–2 draw.

“Hero ban ja tu”: Siraj’s self prep

Fascinatingly, Siraj revealed the conversation he had with Test skipper Shubman Gill, who gave Siraj a free hand on deciding his availability. While Jasprit Bumrah was under the watch for workload management, Siraj was riding on his heart and felt 100 percent fit to play the fifth Tests. He said he was in the zone and would’ve definitely played another Test if there was any.

“Shubman Gill asked me, ‘Kaisi hai teri body?’ I said, ‘Ekdum first-class’. He asked me if I would play. I said yes. 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 said.

India came into England with a relatively thin pace attack: Jasprit Bumrah played only three Tests, and Mohammed Shami wasn’t considered. Siraj, as a result, was thrust into the role of “lead man” more than he perhaps had been before. In doing so, he not only survived but thrived. Throughout the series, he showed stamina, consistency, and an unshakable belief in his own body and bowling mind.

“It was a script written for me from somewhere up there. From getting bowled in Lords (the Test that India lost), then reaching Oval. Then I took a catch (of Harry Brook) and touched the boundary. Everything was written for me. It was a script from God. When I woke up on that final morning, they needed 35 runs.“

“I told myself that this game wouldn’t go beyond an hour and that I will win this match. The match was to start at 11 am and the team bus would leave by 9 am. I woke up at 6 am! I asked myself, ‘Why did I wake up so early today?’ I had woken up suddenly. After that, I wrote down, ‘I can do this, win the game’. When the ball came out of my hand, the execution was exactly how I was thinking; it’s a good sign. God had written, ‘Ja hero ban ja tu, become a hero’.”

Siraj stats at India-England Tests