The rhythm of Mohammed Siraj

The sight of Siraj in rhythm is as captivating as it is frustrating.

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Mohammed Siraj has burned a review already. There are few bowlers more sure of a dismissal, and yet less in touch with reality. His captain Shubman Gill, still trying to understand how to use reviews better, is unable to curb Siraj's near-famous 1000% certainty that every half shout is out.

Ollie Pope is an extremely nervous starter and he cannot bat in the second innings of Test matches. The bowling plan for him isn’t really difficult to come up with: attack his stumps, and when in doubt, attack his stumps.

Siraj had already induced a couple of false shots off Pope from balls that nipped back in. One beat his inside edge, and another hit his pads with extra bounce.

This time Siraj tells Gill, it’s definitely not height, and is 100% certain about it. Gill has only a few seconds to decide if this is one of those times when Siraj is certain and right, or certain and wrong. He decides to trust Siraj, and this time he is 10000% right. Pope is out, Siraj is flying.

This is Siraj in rhythm, the sight of which is as captivating as it is frustrating. When Siraj is on, few are like him. But he seems to have no real idea what makes this happen, or how to capture it. His passion is always there, his rhythm is not.

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Stuart Broad was a rhythm bowler; when his legs were pumping up high, he knew the ball was going to come out better. So, why wouldn’t he do that all the time? The truth is, he was never quite in control of what worked and what didn’t; all he knew was that on his best days, his knees were high. And when he tried to do that artificially, it didn’t work.

Siraj has one big, or tall, disadvantage compared to Broad. On the Englishman’s worst day, he can be a holding bowler because of his height. Siraj skids on, so either he’s flying and the ball is nipping, or he isn’t, and the ball slips onto the bat nicely. His rhythm is more important.

If he needs things to fall into place, or time to find it, India is not the ideal location to bowl. Especially as the second seamer behind someone like Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Shami. Siraj has a stellar record playing for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy, so we know he can bowl on Indian wickets. Even while playing Tests in Asia, he’s had his moments. But he’s just not been required to bowl as much because of the pitches. In more than half his games, he’s not even bowled 20 overs in a match.

He has great numbers in the West Indies from two Tests, but they’re not a great batting lineup. He does lead India’s pace attack there in the absence of Bumrah and Shami.

In South Africa, he strikes once every seven and a half overs, while going at an economy of about 3.2. A big reason for that was the 2024 Cape Town Test, where he destroyed them in the first session of the match. A rhythm spell.

But the two big ones are Australia and England. Those are the series that garner the most attention, and legacies are made for the Big Three players. It’s also two of the best series for quick bowlers. These series count double, for the amount of watchers, and for the extra overs he’ll deliver.

That is when all eyes are on him.

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Mohammed Siraj stands at the SCG with tears welling up as the sounds of the national anthem echo around the ground. It's the third Test of the 2020/21 series, and this is his moment. But he's somewhere else, thinking about his father who passed away two months back. Siraj was already in Australia when it happened. The bio-bubble rules mean he couldn’t go home, couldn’t attend the funeral, couldn’t grieve with his family. So he stays. Trains. Plays. And now stands here, holding back tears as the anthem plays, because that's what’s left to do.

It is just another moment where we see every single emotion of Siraj. He’s like a teenager’s dream journal, every page is full of drama.

Mohammed Ghaus drove an auto-rickshaw through the streets of Hyderabad. That’s Siraj’s father. In a recent Instagram post, Siraj says watching that taught him what hard work really is - head down, no complaints, just keep moving. After a bad day with the ball, trolls dig into Siraj’s background, mocking his father’s profession. He calls it out - his father was a man who gave up everything so his son could chase his dream.

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On his first tour Down Under, he had to bear the brunt of racist abuse. Nathan Lyon said he set a new standard in calling it out. It was a huge moment in cricket.

India pull off an epic draw at the SCG to keep the series alive. But for the final Test, Bumrah was not available. The spin twins weren’t, either. This was a series where India had already lost a gazillion first-choice players. Siraj was brought on as the fifth bowler on his debut at the MCG by skipper Ajinkya Rahane. At the Gabbatoir, he would have to open and lead the bowling in only his third Test match. It was an attack with two players who were first asked to stay back as net bowlers, a backup seamer who was a late addition to the squad and an inexperienced tearaway quick who did not bowl much in the match.

Siraj picks up five in the third innings - Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are among his victims. Some names to have in your first five-wicket haul.

India won a series for the ages, and Siraj was a national hero three Tests in.

Siraj has 33 wickets in eight Tests in Australia. His average is 20% worse than expected, while his strike rate is 10% lower than the mean for the matches he’s played in. But he has also competed with the great Aussie pace trio, Scott Boland and Bumrah - quicks that have delivered more than 70% of all the non-Siraj pace overs. In 2024/25, he was back as the second seamer in Shami’s absence.

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Like in Australia, he takes four wickets per Test on average in England too. His overall mark is slightly over 33, which again doesn’t scream greatness. But he does strike more often than the normal bowler, while being costlier than par. It is kind of what you’d expect from a high impact bowler who can skid onto the bat.

After Lord’s 2021, it seemed like India now had another seamer who they just couldn’t keep on the bench anymore. But that match is like a pivot in Siraj’s career.