"Mohammed Siraj hasn't looked back since the Australia series" - Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar has showered praise on Mohammed Siraj, whose four-wicket haul on Day 5 of the second Test earned India only their third Test win at the historic Lord's Cricket Ground.
Coming from a humble background, Mohammed Siraj, son of an auto-driver, worked extremely hard to move up the ranks. The opportunity to represent India came last year during the tour of Australia. With senior pacers out with injuries, Siraj took the onus on himself to guide India to a historic series win Down Under and has not looked back since.
Speaking to the Khaleej Times, Dilip Vengsarkar highlighted how the Australian tour helped Siraj grow in confidence. The former Indian batsman said:
“Absolutely, Siraj not having shoes until a few years ago, we have seen few such players emerging in India after the IPL,” Dilip Vengsarkar said. “If you see Siraj’s performance in Australia, he excelled on the tour after India lost the first Test and were bowled out for 36. Even Kohli had returned home."
Vengsarkar added:
“Then Siraj was the guy who made the difference with his positive attitude and aggression. He pulled the entire team up with his fiery spells. And they won against Australia in Australia. He played a huge part in that and since then he hasn’t looked back."
Mohammed Siraj, who made his Test debut in Melbourne last year, picked up 13 wickets from three outings against Australia, the most by an Indian bowler in the series. He has continued his brilliant run in the ongoing series, having already taken 11 wickets, just one less than Jasprit Bumrah.
"It would be very high on my list" - Dilip Vengsarkar on Indian's current pace attack
The current pace attack has been touted as the best fast-bowling unit India have ever produced and is currently one of the best in the world. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj have shown that they are capable of picking up wickets in any part of the world.
They are one of the major reasons behind India's dominant run in the red-ball format over the last few years. Former selector Dilip Vengsarkar also feels that the Indian pace attack will be rated among the best. When asked whether this Indian pace attack was the best he had ever seen, Vengsarkar said:
"It would be very high on my list, to be honest. I can’t remember when I saw four fast bowlers bowling for India. We used to play three pace bowlers and a spinner. That used to be the bowling line up."
Vengsarkar added:
"But we had five bowlers. To play with five bowlers requires a positive attitude from the think tank and confidence in the ability of the bowlers. I think they were brilliant, they bowled extremely well and they always kept the pressure on the England batsmen."
India will hope to continue their good work when they take on England in the third Test of the five-match series at Headingley from August 25.