Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj credited the India team’s Strength & Conditioning Coach Soham Desai for helping him to remain in shape despite playing continuous cricket over the last few months. The 29-year-old bowled exceedingly well on a flat track to pick up his second five-wicket haul in the longer format of the game.
The Hyderabad-born pacer had breathed fire with the second new ball against the West Indies picking up 5 wickets for 50 runs in the 1st innings. The 29-year-old has impressed everyone with his ability to make a difference irrespective of the conditions. He can swing and seam the new ball and when it gets old, he brings out the wobble-seam variation to get things done for the team.
Speaking to the media after the end of Day 4 play, Mohammed Siraj is elated with his performance on the tough wicket at The Queen’s Park Oval and expressed his gratitude to the strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai for working to keep him fit and revealed that he enjoys the responsibility of leading the bowling attack in the absence of the senior bowlers in the team.
“I am really happy with the performance because it’s not easy to take wickets on a flat track. A big thanks to Soham bhai, who has worked on my fitness. I have been playing continuously for the past few months and credit to Soham bhai for putting in hard work and taking care of me.
“I am happy with my performance as I executed my plans well when the reverse swing was on offer. To be honest, I enjoy when the responsibility has been put on my shoulders when senior bowlers are missing. I love entering the game with responsibility and I want to accept every challenge coming my way,” Mohammed Siraj said.
West Indian low-order batter found no clue to the fiery spell of the Indian pacer to the second new ball, thus joining the elite list of Jasprit Bumrah and Kapil Dev of picking up 5-wicket haul in the Caribbean soil. The pacer bowled exceedingly well to bowl out the Men in Maroon in the 1st innings.
My Plan Was Simple – To Bowl The Stump Line And Was Hoping To Get The Seam Movement – Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj said that he kept his plans simple, as tried to bowl in the stump line to get some seam movement with the new ball and reckons that he had some swing movement with the new ball on Day 4 but believes that they won’t have much movement on the final day as they want to bowl in proper line and length to win the game.
“My plan was simple – to bowl the stump line and was hoping to get the seam movement and I stuck to that. The ball was new so we also got some swing but it won’t be the same on Day 5 as the ball has gotten old so the play will be to keep it simple and not leak runs,” Mohammed Siraj added.
The 29-year-old is one of the mainstays in the Indian team especially in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and has impressed everyone with his bowling against West Indies in the 1st innings and would be a key player for the Indian team in the 2nd innings.