The only bowler for India who has played all the games in the series is Mohammed Siraj. And as is the case with him all the time, he has bowled his heart out. And one wonders when it comes to Siraj what happens to workload management!
Jasprit Bumrah is allowed to pick and choose Test matches. He has already taken a break in Birmingham and possibly will not play at the Oval. Prasidh who played the first two was dropped from the next two. Akash Deep who played Birmingham and Lord’s is injured for Manchester. Only Siraj is there for everything. And may I say it is turning into a real worry. Are we doing justice to Siraj or is India starting to treat him unfairly because he will never say a word and keep running in for the team?
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There was a moment on Day 3 of the Manchester Test when Bumrah, after bowling just one over with the second new ball had left the field. Gill was forced to go to Kamboj who isn’t ready for cricket at this level. Only Siraj toiled on and despite the pressure be created, nothing happened because at the other end everything was handed to England on a platter. Finally Siraj lunged forward to field one and injured himself. The grimace on his face said it all as he started to walk back to the pavilion for some treatment. While he did come back after a while and bowled as well, his pace had dropped and he looked visibly tired.
Siraj, like everyone else, needs to be treated with care. While he has huge reserves of energy and is always on the ball with effort, it is key we understand that he too is human and that he is key to India’s pace bowling reserves in the future.
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At the time of writing one can easily say that Siraj looks tired. He has done everything in this series and while he doesn’t have the rewards to show for it, we can easily say that in Birmingham and at Lord’s he was simply brilliant.
The point is while trying to protect Bumrah we shouldn’t sacrifice Siraj. Long term he is as important and frankly this is unfair. As I finish the piece Siraj has just sprinted across at deep cover and saved a boundary. That’s him. He will run in all day, push himself all day, keep coming at you all day and never say a word. May be that’s why he is taken for granted at times. And it is something India can ill afford.
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