Mohammed Siraj, who debuted for India in 2nd Test against Australia has highlighted the immense support he received from the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane as Virat Kohli is unavailable to execute his plans and set his own fields. He bowled 15 overs where he conceded 40 runs besides accounting for two dismissals.
The lanky pacer spoke about his experiences of making a debut in the Boxing Day Test against Australia during a post-match interview with the Sony Sports network.
Mohammed Siraj: Happy To Make Debut And Ajinkya Rahane Gave Me Freedom And Motivation
Mohammed Siraj was asked how he would like to describe his performance on his first day in Test cricket. He expressed delight about having made his Test debut along with Shubman Gill and revealed stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane had put him at ease by asking him to think of the match as any other first-class encounter to ease tension.
“Firstly, I am very happy that I got to make my debut. And I had spoken to Rahane and he told me to do whatever I have been doing for India A and domestic cricket. He asked me not to think too much that I was playing for India and bowl my normal stuff,” Mohammad Siraj said.
“I enjoyed a lot bowling with Rahane as the captain. Because he gave me the freedom to bowl the way I wanted and set my own field. He was also motivating me if one or two balls went bad. So, I was getting the confidence with him,” he added.
Zaheer Khan asked Mohammed Siraj if getting the first opportunity to bowl quite late in the day as he was the 5th bowler to bowl in Australia’s 1st innings had affected his nervousness. The Hyderabad-born pacer responded it had actually helped him ease his nerves.
He said: “I was a little nervous at the start. But by the time my bowling came after lunch, my entire nervousness was gone.”
Mohammed Siraj was one of two debutants for India in the Boxing Day Test against Australia, opening batsman Shubman Gill being the other. The speedster scalped the crucial wickets of top scorer Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green to help India bowl out Australia for 195 runs in their first innings.
Mohammed Siraj Got Confidence Because Of Jasprit Bumrah’s Presence
Mohammed Siraj was further asked about his discussions with Jasprit Bumrah in the middle of a field. The former responded that his senior partner was only asking him to concentrate on one delivery at a time and not look too far ahead for the entire over.
“He was coming to me ball to ball and telling me to just think about the next delivery and not the entire over,” Mohammad Siraj said.
Mohammed Siraj concluded by observing the presence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah had enhanced his confidence and helped him to do well.
“He was telling me that I will do well and asked me not to take any tension. So, I also got the confidence because he was with me,” he added.
Mohammed Siraj picked up 2 wickets while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was the wrecker in chief with 4 scalps while spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked three wickets.