India pacer Mohammed Siraj revealed that fast bowling coach Morne Morkel refers to him as a “warrior.” Siraj credited the guidance from the coaching staff and vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah for helping him bounce back from a rough patch with the ball in the first Test against Australia in Perth, where he took five wickets in India’s 295-run victory.
This turnaround occurred in pace-friendly conditions after he had only claimed six wickets in four Tests at home. Siraj shared that he has shifted his focus to enjoying his bowling rather than solely chasing wickets. The 30-year-old stated (via ESPNcricinfo):
“Morne [Morkel, India’s current bowling coach] keeps telling me that ‘you are a warrior. You’ll get us wickets, but you just keep enjoying your bowling’.”
“I always keep talking to Jassi bhai[Bumrah]. Even before the first match, I spoke with him about what I was going through. And he just told me one thing – don’t run after wickets, just keep bowling consistently in one area and enjoy your bowling. If you still don’t get wickets, then you come ask me. So I enjoyed my bowling and I got wickets as well,” he added.
“The More You Practice, The Better You Get” – Mohammed Siraj On India’s Preparation For The Pink-Ball Second Test
Mohammed Siraj also discussed the challenges of playing with the pink ball in the second Test in Adelaide, starting Friday, December 6. The Hyderabad-born pacer shared his thoughts in the same conversation:
“This [pink] ball has a synthetic feeling. This is different to the red ball we play with. There can be a bit of confusion due to the ball, but it’s just one match so we just have to focus on that and practice for it and we’ll improve day-by-day. The seam is very hard. It’s bright, and quite big. The more you practice with it, the better you get.”
“I think that with the pink ball, it’s better to bowl back of length. Because pitching it up, there’s not a lot of swing, so the more you hit the deck and get it to seam, it will be better for us. I have heard that the ball swings a lot under the lights but I haven’t yet bowled with it under lights. So when we go to Adelaide and practice, we will try that,” he added.
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