Would Mohammed Siraj Have Skipped The Oval Test? Star Pacer Says ‘Ekdum First Class…’ | Cricket News

Mohammed Siraj with the Player of the Match award at the Oval. (AP Photo)

Star India pacer Mohammed Siraj has revealed that Test skipper Shubman Gill asked him ahead of the fifth Test at the Oval in England if his body was fine, having bowled a lot of overs in the first four Tests, but Siraj replied with a trademark ‘ekdum first class’ that gave Gill a lot of confidence.

Speaking to The Indian Express in an Idea Exchange, Siraj said that if there had been one more Test in the England series, he would have played in it as well.

Across the England series, Siraj claimed 23 wickets, the most by any bowler from either team, including nine in the final Test. With star pacer Jasprit Bumrah absent from the last Test, Siraj was offered the option to skip the Oval Test because of concerns about the physical toll of bowling so many overs.

“Shubman Gill asked me, ‘Kaisi hai teri body?’ (How is your body?). I said, ‘Ekdum first-class’. He asked me if I would play. I said yes. He said, You are the main bowler for us, like Jasprit Bumrah, you decide,” Siraj narrated.

“I said I am available and am 100 per cent fit. I will give it everything. As for my body being tired, to be honest, I would have played one more Test if it were there. I did not feel tired,” Siraj added.

The star Indian pacer set the stage for the final day of the fifth Test, turning hero after earlier heartbreaks in the series, including brushing the ropes while attempting a catch on Harry Brook on the fourth day and his dismissal at Lord’s.

“It was a script written for me from somewhere up there. From getting bowled in Lords (the Test that India lost), then reaching the Oval. Then I took a catch (of Harry Brook) and touched the boundary,” Siraj said.