Siraj the red ball star!!

[express bowling]

The biggest quality that is noticeable about Siraj's bowling is the energy he has even when he is bowling the 22nd over of the day. He is always bowling with intensity and energy. Proving thereby that he is the real deal for test matches.

 

Next is his wicket taking ability. He knows how to pick wickets and a wicket is around the corner every time he comes in to bowl.

 

He is sharp. Bowls 132 k to 146 k, is very skiddy and always hurries batsmen and bowls in the high 130s even after bowling 20 overs a day. There isn't any perceptible pace drop.

 

His greatest weapon is to get the ball to dip in while bowling with a scrambled seam. He can do this even on the flattest of decks. Which is why he always takes wickets. But he can move the ball away too, albeit not at will.

 

Plus he has a sharp bouncer ( he keeps injuring batsmen ) and has developed a quick, accurate indipping yorker this year which he bowls at 140 k to 147 k. We saw that in IPL 2021. Which is why he is a top death bowler in white ball cricket now. He successfully defended tough targets in the last over twice.

 

He knows how to set up batsmen and this is the key.

 

In short ... he is a complete fast bowler.

Edited August 17, 2021 by express bowling

[The Dark Horse]

31 minutes ago, Mosher said:

Siraj now has the best bowling figures for an Indian bowler at Lords.

 

 

Sweet..

[DeepSpace]

What a find he is. Jhoparpatti would be proud. This is modern India. In 80s, this would be unthinkable. Bumrah, Shami and Siraj form a killer trio!

[CodeOfWisden]

55 minutes ago, express bowling said:

In 2018, playing for India A in Unofficial Test matches, Siraj picked 40 wickets from just 5 matches.  (  That's right .. 40 freaking wickets from just 5 matches @ 8 wickets per match ). Proving clearly that he knows how to take wickets at a competitive level in 4 day / 5 day matches.

 

After such amazing performances, why would anyone be made to warm the benches for 28 months  !!  And he was played in T20Is instead.

 

Learnings from this ....

 

1)  Debut young players with potential when they are in great form. Don't waste it.

2)  Play players in the correct format. 

3)  Use test series against weak teams to debut rookie quicks. Two experienced quicks and 1 rookie quick can be played even in home tests with Ashwin and Jaddu.

 

P.S .... Now we may end up delaying Prasidh Krishna's test debut. He could be the next big thing after Siraj.

 

 

 

In 2018 we didn't need Siraj our pace quartet was already reaching for the stars. I think he has debuted at the right time. 

 

In 2019, well it was home season so again no need of pacers. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by CodeOfWisden

[Frustrated]

Did not look that consistent in 1st test.   But yesterday, he was a different beast all together.   Looked like a Lion ready to pounce on his prey every time while bowling.  Well Done!!

[urbestfriend]

As much we hate the TM, they should be credited for finding this talent...Especially Bharat Arun.. 

[express bowling]

25 minutes ago, CodeOfWisden said:

In 2018 we didn't need Siraj our pace quartet was already reaching for the stars. I think he has debuted at the right time. 

 

Hardly.

 

England 2018 .. Bumrah missed the first 2 tests and Bhuvi missed the whole series. And Ishant was injured in the last test.

 

Australia 2018-19 .. We played Umesh, probably in Perth, although he has never been good outside Asia. And Ishant missed the last test.

 

 

25 minutes ago, CodeOfWisden said:

 

In 2019, well it was home season so again no need of pacers. 

 

We debuted Shardul against the WI  .. so, a spot had opened up. 

 

Ishant was played in home tests and he is generally good outside Asia and not that good at home. 

 

There was a test vs Afghanistan where a new pacer could have been easily tried.

 

P.S -- The main thing is to keep backup pacers ready because fast bowlers get injured more frequently. We were lucky that Siraj bowled like a seasoned pro in Australia 2020-21 despite it being his debut series. Won't happen always.

[Lone Wolf]

42 minutes ago, CodeOfWisden said:

In 2018 we didn't need Siraj our pace quartet was already reaching for the stars. I think he has debuted at the right time. 

 

In 2019, well it was home season so again no need of pacers. 

We needed him in 2020 NZ tour at least when Ishant got Injured.  That was perfect time for him to debut. 

[rkt.india]

3 hours ago, urbestfriend said:

As much we hate the TM, they should be credited for finding this talent...Especially Bharat Arun.. 

How did TM find him?

[Autonomous]

He looks very good. 

[Samcric]

7 hours ago, express bowling said:

The biggest quality that is noticeable about Siraj's bowling is the energy he has even when he is bowling the 22nd over of the day. He is always bowling with intensity and energy. Proving thereby that he is the real deal for test matches.

 

Next is his wicket taking ability. He knows how to pick wickets and a wicket is around the corner every time he comes in to bowl.

 

He is sharp. Bowls 132 k to 146 k, is very skiddy and always hurries batsmen and bowls in the high 130s even after bowling 20 overs a day. There isn't any perceptible pace drop.

 

His greatest weapon is to get the ball to dip in while bowling with a scrambled seam. He can do this even on the flattest of decks. Which is why he always takes wickets. But he can move the ball away too, albeit not at will.

 

Plus he has a sharp bouncer ( he keeps injuring batsmen ) and has developed a quick, accurate indipping yorker this year which he bowls at 140 k to 147 k. We saw that in IPL 2021. Which is why he is a top death bowler in white ball cricket now. He successfully defended tough targets in the last over twice.

 

He knows how to set up batsmen and this is the key.

 

In short ... he is a complete fast bowler.

 

Needs to develop the outswinger to become a 100-test 400 wickets bowler. 

 

Needs more pace and accurate yorkers for success in odis and t20s but I think he will be an asset in Tests everywhere including India.

 

 

[express bowling]

29 minutes ago, Samcric said:

 

Needs to develop the outswinger to become a 100-test 400 wickets bowler. 

 

 

He does have the outswinger, bowls it in some spells but cannot bowl it always.

 

He got Buttler yesterday with an outswinger.

 

29 minutes ago, Samcric said:

Needs more pace and accurate yorkers for success in odis and t20s but I think he will be an asset in Tests everywhere including India.

 

 

In this year's IPL he was bowling amazingly accurate yorkers and bowled a high percentage of deliveries in the 140 k to 146 k range including a fastest of 148 k.

 

He has really developed his yorkers this year and I want him to try it in test matches too.

 

And his style of bowling is such that he would be even better if he can bowl a bit quicker in tests. 

[ShoonyaSifar]

4 hours ago, Samcric said:

 

Needs to develop the outswinger to become a 100-test 400 wickets bowler. 

 

Needs more pace and accurate yorkers for success in odis and t20s but I think he will be an asset in Tests everywhere including India.

 

 

What kind of unreal expectations is that. He is 27, at most will have 6-7 year long career. Realistic target should be 50-60 tests and 200-225 wickets at a under 25 average.

 

From the current lot only Bumrah has a shot at taking 300+ wickets, might finish at 250, same as Shami.

[Gollum]

Siraj should have played right from T1 against Eng at home. Instead we had Ishant trundling in. 

[Ankit_sharma03]

16 hours ago, CodeOfWisden said:

I think he has debuted at the right time. 

nope , easily 2 yrs late

We have been screaming our lungs out here specially when he performed for india-A. Well he just didnt performed he desimated teams - WI-A, Sa-A, Aus-A, Eng-A.....in different conditions

 

We just kept carrying umesh when it was well known that anywhere outside india he isnt effective and they dont even play him. Even on NZ tour we had a huge debate here when many of us wanted to play Siraj and some wanted umesh. 

 

 

[Ankit_sharma03]

17 hours ago, express bowling said:

The biggest quality that is noticeable about Siraj's bowling is the energy he has even when he is bowling the 22nd over of the day. He is always bowling with intensity and energy. Proving thereby that he is the real deal for test matches.

 

Next is his wicket taking ability. He knows how to pick wickets and a wicket is around the corner every time he comes in to bowl.

 

He is sharp. Bowls 132 k to 146 k, is very skiddy and always hurries batsmen and bowls in the high 130s even after bowling 20 overs a day. There isn't any perceptible pace drop.

 

His greatest weapon is to get the ball to dip in while bowling with a scrambled seam. He can do this even on the flattest of decks. Which is why he always takes wickets. But he can move the ball away too, albeit not at will.

 

Plus he has a sharp bouncer ( he keeps injuring batsmen ) and has developed a quick, accurate indipping yorker this year which he bowls at 140 k to 147 k. We saw that in IPL 2021. Which is why he is a top death bowler in white ball cricket now. He successfully defended tough targets in the last over twice.

 

He knows how to set up batsmen and this is the key.

 

In short ... he is a complete fast bowler.

Ill add -

• he can reverse a kookabura (very very tough to do that) , Duke n SG are better for reverse but kookabura is a lil difficult and he did it in Australia
• To continue on reverse he ll be a great asset in indian condition since shami n umesh wont play forever and to continue the domination at home we need pacer who are equally effective as our spinners. 
• the angle he gets to dismiss left handers, he will have a lot of left handers around the world in big trouble 

He is one the most skilful fast bowlers in world currently

[jf1gp_1]

Had seen him bowl in domestic games and never thought Suraj will play test cricket for India let alone do this well. Always felt Saini will do much better. Siraj has proven success in Australia wasn't a one time thing. Keep going.

[coffee_rules]

Some people are commenting about his ‘shut up’ celebration. But he does it without malice or intention to hurt. He is so innocent and enjoying the moment. Even in the BCCI.tv video in the dressing room celebration, he did it. Great to watch his joy in victory. 
 

He has to improve fielding at the boundary, sloppy to give away some 4s

[poyzzplaidwell]

18 hours ago, express bowling said:

The biggest quality that is noticeable about Siraj's bowling is the energy he has even when he is bowling the 22nd over of the day. He is always bowling with intensity and energy. Proving thereby that he is the real deal for test matches.

 

Next is his wicket taking ability. He knows how to pick wickets and a wicket is around the corner every time he comes in to bowl.

 

He is sharp. Bowls 132 k to 146 k, is very skiddy and always hurries batsmen and bowls in the high 130s even after bowling 20 overs a day. There isn't any perceptible pace drop.

 

His greatest weapon is to get the ball to dip in while bowling with a scrambled seam. He can do this even on the flattest of decks. Which is why he always takes wickets. But he can move the ball away too, albeit not at will.

 

Plus he has a sharp bouncer ( he keeps injuring batsmen ) and has developed a quick, accurate indipping yorker this year which he bowls at 140 k to 147 k. We saw that in IPL 2021. Which is why he is a top death bowler in white ball cricket now. He successfully defended tough targets in the last over twice.

 

He knows how to set up batsmen and this is the key.

 

In short ... he is a complete fast bowler.

 

This was done by preparing him over years on India A tours. He has played 50+ matches over 2-3 years in Aus/Eng/SA/India with fringe players of international teams.

His pathway is different as he was identified at 21-22 age and had not played junior cricket. 

Lot of such talent is there to be unearthed, but more importantly to be nurtured through proper system. Credit to Dravid for setting up the system and hopefully it is not tinkered down the line.

 

Padosis mechanisms of throwing in fake 16 yr olds will no longer work in modern times, where 3 video clips of your bowling/batting will be dissected and a full blown analysis of your strength/weaknesses is fed into opposition.

 

Hopefully Siraj continues like this.

Edited August 17, 2021 by poyzzplaidwell

[poyzzplaidwell]

1 hour ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

nope , easily 2 yrs late

We have been screaming our lungs out here specially when he performed for india-A. Well he just didnt performed he desimated teams - WI-A, Sa-A, Aus-A, Eng-A.....in different conditions

 

We just kept carrying umesh when it was well known that anywhere outside india he isnt effective and they dont even play him. Even on NZ tour we had a huge debate here when many of us wanted to play Siraj and some wanted umesh. 

 

 

yes i agree but still he had not played any junior cricket., and came a bit late into Ranji scene. So those long tours prepared him better. Also he was a bit mentally fragile i felt earlier, now he is more self aware and confident.