The last ball of the series, which bowled out the batsman, was one of his top five fastest deliveries in the series.”
Siraj delivered a 143 kmph yorker to clean up Gus Atkinson and seal India’s win in the fifth Test. It was the fifth-fastest ball he bowled in the series.
“This shows that he never lacked effort. He focused on bowling with the right line and length and contributed beyond expectations for the team. His fitness and rhythm were excellent throughout,” Singh said.
Having bowled largely under Bumrah’s leadership until now, Siraj carved his own identity during the England series.
Singh noted that even Bumrah’s success has been supported by Siraj.
“Just like batsmen need partnerships, bowlers also prefer bowling in pairs. Bumrah tends to take more wickets and his unique action troubles batters more,” the former left-arm bowler said.
Siraj’s role is to build pressure from his end, and he does that very well. Their partnership has been special and delivered great performances. When Bumrah is not in the team, Siraj automatically becomes our lead fast bowler.”
On the debate over Bumrah featuring in only three matches on the England tour due to workload management, Singh said: “That was already planned. The good thing about Bumrah is that whenever he’s in the team, he gives you wickets.
“Captains always expect breakthroughs from him. He usually bowls more than others in any match he plays.”
Singh also praised skipper Shubman Gill, who led from the front with 754 runs in the series.
“No one thought India would come back and level the series 2-2. Gill was impressive as captain. He made good decisions and his personal performance was outstanding.
“When a captain performs well in his role, it positively influences his decision-making.”
The series also saw moments of grit as injured players had to bat to save matches. Rishabh Pant came out to bat in Manchester despite a fractured leg, while England’s Chris Woakes batted with his left arm in a sling after suffering a shoulder fracture.
Singh said in such situations, teams should be allowed like-for-like injury replacements.
“In my opinion, there should be a neutral doctor or physio during every match who decides the severity of a player’s injury and whether the player is fit to play. If not, the team should be allowed to bring in a replacement of similar ability,” he said.
Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh did not feature in any of the Tests, and Singh attributed this to the team management’s preference for all-rounders.
“There’s no doubt that every player wants to be in the playing XI. From the first match of the series, India decided to strengthen the batting. To deepen the batting lineup, the team preferred all-rounders. That’s why Kuldeep didn’t get to play,” he said.
“If the team had prioritized bowling strength, then Kuldeep would have played. Washington Sundar partially filled the spin bowler role. But I believe there were two or three pitches where Kuldeep could have been very effective. But these things happen in cricket, if not today, then there will be opportunities in the future.”
