Following the death of his father, the Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj debuted into test-cricket against Australia in December, 2020. Since his emotional beginning and heartening performance on his debut tour, he is also considered as one of the most rated new-comer as well as a promising youngster in Indian cricket and is usually known because of the extraordinary efforts that he puts and the energy he brings into the game. We have already seen some extraordinary spells of him bowling since his Test debut. Also, recently climbing up to around 18 spots at the ICC player rankings after the Lord’s Test series.
To talk about Siraj’s recent performance against England, he climbs to 38th spot after an 8-wicket match haul at Lord’s where he picked up 4 wickets in the 2nd innings as India scripted the famous win. However, the bowling giant of India Jasprit Bumrah retains his place in the top 10 of ICC Bowling Rankings.
In this particular analysis, we will look at Mohammed Shiraj’s bowling figures alongside the figures of current bowling giants of India- Jasprit Bhumrah and Ishant Sharma. Further, we will analyse his performance considering different parameters.
First of all, we will be looking at the overall bowling performances at Test matches for the year 2021 and to analyse Siraj’s data alongside these giants of Indian pace bowling to see how one of the rising bowling sensation Md. Siraj is performing since his debut. Also to mention we have selected the concerned players also because they have played almost the same no. of test innings for the year 2021 or since Siraj debuted for test cricket. Data was collected and thus corresponding graphs are presented to get a clear idea of comparison with each potential key indicator of overall performance statistics of the bowling giants considered for this particular analysis.
Now to talk about the 6’4” (six feet four inches) tall fast bowler from India, one of the most experienced in the whole Indian cricket team and serving the country for more than a decade with his splendid work with the ball, the one and only Ishant Sharma has also appeared for around 11 test innings this year. From struggling with injuries until his comeback he has maintained a good economy along with conceding the lowest no. of runs but also bowling the lowest number of overs considering this year’s data. He is the kind of bowler who tends to let the ball go naturally as he has one of those admirable seam positions and his abilities to control the ball.
Now to consider the death-over specialist bowler Jasprit Bumrah who was also basically the leader of the Indian pace attack during the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). It was one of the finest opportunities since his debut in test cricket in the year 2016. In the finals of WTC, he could not shine as much as everyone expected him to shine. From losing his rhythm to returning to his form, we can see that his performances during recent test matches are really very appreciable but it is also usual for audiences to keep expectations from such quality bowlers of recent times.
Siraj has a great strike rate when compared to Bumrah and Ishant Sharma. Obviously, there are several factors associated which may affect the overall production of such statistics but considering a fresher in test cricket, it is quite evident that how good a bowler he is and also considering his current form and his hunt for wickets at crucial times. Also, considering the above stats, he is the leading wicket-taker among the above three with 23 wickets and still counting as we haven’t considered the latest statistics where he is performing at his peak against England. However, it is also to be mentioned that he needs to focus on his economy as a bowler.
We cannot say that it is the best start by any pacer to his Test career because players such as Jasprit Bumrah and Shami had more wickets in their first seven Tests than Siraj – but it is also to be mentioned that India had won five of seven Test matches where Siraj has played previously. Therefore, considering the win% of India with him in the playing XI it is really very admirable.
Why he can be a promising player in the coming years is because with all the guidance from his seniors he is surely going to excel in the days to come. Siraj displays both effort and quality in his gameplay and is often praised by captain Kohli and others as well.
His recent form and statistics show his potential to excel. Also, he is young – only 27 years of age – and he has an ample amount of time to learn from his experienced seniors. He says in his interviews as well how he feels to play alongside such ‘giants’ of Indian bowling and also acquiring and possessing the correct set of skills to flourish as a player.
Now, let us look at the position and progress considering few key potential indicators like when Md. Siraj bowls his best overs from the data that we have gathered. The graphical representation of the data below reveals the story further.
Now to discuss the position where he should be bowling, it becomes quite tricky as it is totally unpredictable when the captain chose to call but it is also evident from the above statistics that he bowled most of the overs at position 2 as a bowler. Also, getting most of the wickets while bowling at position 4. So, we can say that Md. Siraj is an ideal No.4 positioned bowler as of now considering the above stats. Further, more data will help us get a better vision regarding the same.
Another point of this analysis is to see how the presence of a world-class experienced bowler affects Siraj’s test performance. Siraj has played around 7 test matches and out of which 4 matches he has shared the ball along with Jasprit Bumrah. Now the stats say that Siraj has managed to take the highest no. of wickets playing together with Bumrah and also Bumrah too has some quality stats when it comes to playing alongside Siraj. Since the fresh start for a promising carrier of Siraj, Bumrah can be seen playing test cricket alongside Siraj and only for few matches due to injury when he was not a part of the team. We will have to observe if Jasprit Bumrah by his side can really boost his confidence to perform at his peak. We can also see how Bumrah guides Siraj most of the time during the field starting from his debut in Australia last year.
Also, without Bumrah in the test team since the debut of Siraj, it is seen that the statistics of Siraj bowling significantly goes down with a maximum of 2 wickets haul in a single match. There are several factors such as the batsmen he has bowled is either a top, middle or lower-order batsmen. Motivation from quality cricketers can affect or boost motivation while gaining confidence and allowing a young player to perform at his peak performance irrespective of the conditions he bowls in. The more data which we will obtain in the following days and years to come will help us get to a clear understanding.
Conclusion
Md. Siraj can be seen focused on a mission of becoming a raging force in the improving bowling attack from India. The newcomer into the test is working very hard to match the best trio currently in the Indian bowling attack- Ishant Sharma, Md. Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. According to stats from Cricviz, it is also pretty clear that in the current ongoing series between India and England so far as concerned, no one has attacked the stumps as much as Siraj did—18.1% of Siraj’s deliveries were projected to hit the stumps, with Sam Curran coming in second with 16.6% and Ishant Sharma following at 13.6%. Also, the deadly combination of all four pacers during the first two tests was something that was mesmerising to see in Indian cricket which is usually dominated by spinners.
Also, looking at his current numbers or statistics in Test cricket, it is quite evident that Md. Siraj is a great asset to team India in terms of contribution even at crucial times. A game-changer with a lot of potential, we can also say that in the coming years India’s bowling legacy is expected to reach new heights as new promising players are emerging into Indian cricket which have the ability to impact greatly into the team’s performance and also with abilities to change the face of India in test cricket.