Mohammed Siraj 'wanted to instil fear'; heated exchange backfires as Harry Brook makes him suffer for exchanging words
Harry Brook's assault made Mohammed Siraj eat his words.
Mohammed Siraj was expected to shoulder Jasprit Bumrah's responsibility in the absence of Mohammed Shami, but the India pacer, in just his first outing on the tour of England, gave his bowling partner more headaches than relief. Siraj became India's fourth centurion of the Headingley Test match, conceding 2/122, allowing England to pummel 466 in their first innings. But more than the wayward bowling, it was Siraj's attitude and reluctance to learn from his mistakes that infuriated more. It's no secret that Siraj loves to be aggressive, rile the opposition batter up. When it comes off, he looks like a million dollars, but when it doesn't, he reiterates the thin line that exists between looking sexy and looking stupid.
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Unfortunately, on Day 3 of the first Test at Headingley, it was the latter. Not only did Siraj bleed runs, but also looked like he was running out of ideas. Perhaps it was the same frustration that made him have a go at Harry Brook. In the 84th over, a ball from Siraj struck Brook on his pads. Siraj stood there looking at Brook before the batter finally retaliated with something. And that was all it took. Siraj muttered a few words back, and after a few back-and-forth words exchanged, Brook finally shushed Siraj away. That was all the England batter needed to get charged up, as after that incident, Brook went on to unleash a maddening carnage on the Indian bowlers.
Dropped by Yashasvi Jaiswal an over ago, Brook went 6, 4, 4 off Siraj's next to race into the 90s. He looked set for a hundred, but after getting three reprieves, Brook hooked a ball from Prasidh Krishna right down Shardul Thakur's throat at fine leg to get out on 99. Siraj and Jaiswal breathed a sigh of relief, but that doesn't mask the overall picture – Siraj's aggression that needs to be controlled. Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, who was on commentary, aptly summed up what's wrong with Siraj's aggression and why it backfires more often than it succeeds.
Dinesh Karthik had a word with Mohammed Siraj during IPL 2025
"Interesting to see Siraj get a bit aggressive. Just have a look at him. Hits the elbow. Siraj had something to say. He likes to get aggressive. He was playing against RCB as well. He got aggressive. And then in one game, he came up against Phil Salt. The game was in Delhi. RCB were chasing and he thought it was the best way to get himself pumped it," Karthik said.
"Siraj gave a few words back to Phil Salt and then Salt took off after that. After the match got over, I asked Siraj 'Why did you have to go after him? You were bowling so nicely. He said 'No, I just wanted to instil some fear'. I said but that's what he likes. He immediately turned and said 'You should have told me after before the game started. Not after I got hit'".
Siraj's form with the ball has long been a concern for India. He was dropped from India's Champions Trophy squad, but after showing some spark in the IPL for Gujarat Titans, the pacer was picked in India's 18-member squad. Long way ahead, but Siraj should not mind fine-tuning a few things to get back to being a potent threat with the ball.
