Team India’s bowlers performed extremely well in the final Test at The Oval, as the visitors won the game and levelled the series 2-2. Mohammed Siraj finished the series as the highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets.
Ahead of the game, there were concerns because of the absence of their star pacer, Jasprit Bumrah. However, Siraj and Prasidh Krishna stepped up and delivered at The Oval. Surprisingly, Bumrah played in three matches in the series—Leeds, Lord’s, and Manchester—but Team India were winless in those games.
Now, former Australian cricketer Brad Haddin has taken a dig at Bumrah while lauding India’s other bowling options.
Speaking on the YouTube podcast Willow Talk, Haddin claimed that India can play without their ace pacer, especially with a bowler like Siraj, who stepped up when it mattered.
“India, they can take a lot out of this that they still can play without Bumrah (Jasprit). Life goes on. The other bowlers find a way. They have got so much talent over there in India. But he didn’t win a Test match. Siraj stood up when he had to. His workload has been just as big but India were under pressure starting the tournament (Series) because their Test cricket hasn’t been great And Gambhir.. If they did not win the last test, I reckon he is under the pump,” he said.
Haddin also added that Siraj is the kind of bowler who likes to lead the attack and deliver in high-pressure situations.
“I think Siraj likes being the leader of the attack. He is one of those guys that he wants the ball in big situations. Yes, he makes mistakes, but he doesn’t shy away from wanting the occasion. If you have players like that who aren’t afraid to make mistakes, who can get under the skin of opposition because of the way that they want to be in the game, they are the guys you want. He wanted the ball in that last hour of play. There’s no way in the world he didn’t want to bowl every over to win the game,” he added.
The former wicket-keeper also credited Shubman Gill for his batting and decision-making, despite being a new Test captain.
“I like (Shubman) Gill’s style. His batting shows that and we have seen that in the IPL actually that the captaincy does not affect his batting, which is a really really good sign. Captaincy, he is going to go and grow into it. He made some tactical moves that were good. There, where he was a little bit behind the game but there is a lot of life in this Indian cricket team,” he concluded.
For more exciting articles, follow RevSportz.