Workload? Never quite a problem for lionhearted pacer Mohammed Siraj

When it comes to a question of wearing the badge of honour for India, workload can wait for Mohammed Siraj. Just ponder this: a whopping 1,113 deliveries, meaning 185.3 overs, is what the lionhearted pace bowler from Hyderabad had delivered during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy to emerge as the leading wicket taker with 23 wickets as he was the only quick bowler from either side to last all five Tests.

Compare this with the most successful bowler from the rivals, Josh Tongue, who played three Tests for his 19 wickets and bowled 762 deliveries (127 overs). While Jasprit Bumrah had laid down the terms that he would be playing only three Tests, the English camp rotated its seam bowlers intelligently, resting the express Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse for the fifth Test with them already 2-1 up in the series and Chris Woakes being the only constant.

Siraj, the 31-year-old who believes in wearing his emotions on his sleeves, was not complaining though. A small piece of statistic earlier in the series was actually an eye opener — he had been more effective and produced a better economy rate when performing in the absence of his senior partner Bumrah and this series has certainly saw him emerging out of the latter’s shadows as someone capable of leading the attack on his own.

Mohammed SirajI told myself that I’ll certainly change the game when I woke up today. And then I picked up my phone, Googled a believe emoticon and put it as my wallpaper

‘’Mohammed Siraj is a captain’s dream,’’ said captain Shubman Gill as his commitment levels, eagerness to leave everything on the field overshadowed the odd embarrassing moments of brain fade — be it playing onto his stumps at Lord’s or tripping over the line after completing Harry Brook’s catch when the England batter was on 19 on the fourth day. Brook, in the company of maestro Joe Root, made India pay dearly and the match had all but tilted in England’s favour when they ended with only 35 runs to get with three wickets in hand on the final day.

Siraj, and the much-maligned Prasiddh Krishna, however, had other ideas. Speaking to the broadcasters with Dinesh Karthik playing translator, Siraj said he woke up with a belief : main hi game change karunga (I would change the game) before adding how he went to Google, screenshot a ‘believe’ emoticon and added it as his wallpaper.

Shubman Gill & Co: From no-hopers to toast of the nation after drawn series

‘’I told myself that I’d certainly change the game when I woke up today. And then I picked up my phone, Googled a believe emoticon and put it as my wallpaper,’’ said Siraj, something which he surely did as he induced a nick from wicketkeeper Jamie Smith to a brilliant away swinger for the first blow of the day on Monday.

Remembering his lapse of concentration on the field, Siraj called it a hadsa (unfortunate event) but commended how the team bounced back. ‘’What happened yesterday was an unfortunate event. I thought the match was gone because if Harry Brook would have been out then the team’s job would have been much easier. It was a game-changing moment but happy with the way we came back,’’ the pacer added.

It was no joke to play his part as creditably as Siraj, as well as the support cast of the great Bumrah (14 wickets), Krishna (13) and Akash Deep (13), under batting-friendly conditions for a better part of the series.  The Indian batters, led by their captain, had exceeded all expectations but as the cliché goes, it’s eventually bowlers who eventually win matches.