Why Mohammed Siraj has earned the right to lead India's Test attack

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With India due to begin a challenging away Test series against Sri Lanka, the focus is on Mohammed Siraj to lead the India pace attack, says Cricket News columnist Jamie Alter.

Do you remember how that engrossing India versus England series ended at The Oval last year?

After 24 days of gripping Test cricket, everything came down to one final session. England needed just 35 runs. India needed four wickets. A packed Oval sat on the edge of its seats, knowing that one spell could decide the series.

That spell belonged to Mohammed Siraj.

Bowling with pace, aggression and unrelenting intensity, Siraj first had Jamie Smith edging behind. He then trapped Jamie Overton lbw before bowling Gus Atkinson to complete a magnificent five-wicket haul.

India won by six runs, sealing one of the greatest Test matches of modern times, and Siraj walked
away as the undisputed hero of the decisive morning.

Siraj steps in to fill India's Bumrah void​

Now, with India due to begin a challenging away Test series against Sri Lanka, the focus is back on Siraj because of Jasprit Bumrah’s unavailability following another injury setback.

This naturally leads to an increasingly important debate within Indian cricket. With Bumrah's workload being carefully managed and his appearances becoming more selective, who is the leader of India's Test pace attack?

For many, the answer might still be Bumrah, and understandably so. He remains one of the finest fast bowlers in world cricket, capable of changing a match in a single spell. On pure ability, there are few who can compare with him.

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But leadership of a bowling attack is about more than reputation. It is about taking responsibility, bowling the difficult overs, setting the tone with the new ball and returning for demanding second and third spells when the captain needs breakthroughs.

Over the past year, Siraj has quietly become that bowler for India.

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In the last 12 months, Siraj has taken more wickets (17) than Bumrah (15) at a better strike-rate (39.1) and at a marginally higher average (20.23).

In England last year, Siraj ploughed through all five Test matches and was, simply, outstanding. He bowled more overs than any Indian fast bowler during the series.

He finished as India's leading wicket-taker. More importantly, he delivered when the pressure was at its highest. Great bowlers are remembered not simply for their statistics, but for producing match-winning spells when everything is on the line.

Siraj's performance at The Oval belongs firmly in that category. And yet, going into the Sri Lanka tour, Siraj has not played enough international cricket recently.

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Siraj's last appearance for India came in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June. Before that, he had been absent from the ODI side since January, while his return to the T20 squad lasted only a single
match.

Yet even in that brief opportunity, he reminded everyone of his quality by claiming three wickets against the USA at the T20 World Cup.

Will lack of international workload affect Siraj?​

That lack of recent cricket does raise legitimate concerns about rhythm. Fast bowling is unforgiving, and long gaps between matches rarely help. Even so, there is little reason to doubt Siraj's ability to rediscover his best in the format that suits him most.

Test cricket has consistently brought out the finest version of him — relentless, wholehearted and fiercely competitive.

The verdict, then, is straightforward. With all due respect to Bumrah, Siraj has
earned the right to be regarded as the leader of India's Test bowling attack.

Not because Bumrah's brilliance has diminished, but because Siraj has become the man carrying the workload, setting the intensity and delivering when India have needed him most.

India will hope that when the first ball is bowled in Sri Lanka, their unsung workhorse quickly rediscovers the rhythm that made him the difference between victory and defeat at The Oval.

If he does, Indian cricket fans could be in for another memorable series.

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