Kolkata: This is how Mohammed Siraj’s bio used to read like before the India-England series-nice outswinger, a deceptive wobble-seam ball, a big heart but not enough returns.
Twenty three wickets in England at an average of 32.43 will go a long way in changing that narrative, but jumping out of his statistics page is the 185.3 overs Siraj bowled across five Tests. That’s an incredible 37 overs per Test. In the backdrop of Jasprit Bumrah being available only for three Tests, Akash Deep being in and out due to injury and Prasidh Krishna’s inconsistent form, the scale of Siraj’s contribution is nothing short of phenomenal.
How did he muster the endurance for it? Nothing happened overnight, says renowned strength and conditioning coach Basu Shanker, who guided Siraj at Royal Challengers Bengaluru as well as at the senior India setup. “At first, Siraj was only a raw fast bowler. Then he added fitness, then strength training, then better lifestyle, nutrition, supplements and so on. He has added a lot of things over a period of five-six years,” Basu told HT.
“What actually stands out for me-especially the background he comes from-was how Siraj embraced the fitness regimen, the training, and the understanding behind it. To do all of that while not compromising on his skills at the same time is quite outstanding. Virat Kohli has played a major role in his shaping up. And of course his work ethic is fantastic.”
To carve out a niche for himself in a bowling attack that has been increasingly reliant on Jasprit Bumrah isn’t easy. But Siraj is also someone who was thrust into the bowling leadership just two Tests into his career, during the 2020-21 Australia tour when India were walking wounded but determined to win. Siraj’s first five-for came on that tour and even though his Test numbers are yet to reflect his true potential, the tenacity to bowl long spells was never in doubt.
“He comes from a tennis ball background. He used to play two, three matches in a day, with very poor footwear, on bad grounds with hardly any facilities,” said Basu. “So he was used to all that grind. Workload is something he has built for from a very small age in the tennis ball world. Then in Ranji Trophy also he has bowled a lot, then in India A as well. Whatever you see now is not overnight. Along with that he has become supremely fit and strong.”
Siraj started bowling fast pretty late, almost at 16, that too in tennis ball and gully cricket. Not before 19 had he played with a proper cricket ball. So introducing him to the training methodology that makes top fast bowlers wasn’t easy when Basu first saw Siraj during the Nidahas Trophy in 2018. “He was very innocent, had never trained before. I don’t think at that time he really understood the concept of training. I told him let’s not complicate things for you. Let’s create a habit.
“So I gave him a set of ethics and told him you will do this everyday, not for your training, but to understand your training. Once he started to see a bit of positive influence in his body, he committed himself. Of course, Virat was there, Bharat (Arun, India’s bowling coach) was there. Siraj had the right platform. He never stopped learning.”
Not much of the training was about sweating it out at the gym. “He used to spend not more than an hour, that too two or three times a week,” revealed Basu. The real discipline came from within, with some motivation in the form of the rub-on effect Kohli’s fitness discipline had on Siraj.
“Siraj’s lifestyle has become very clean,” said Basu. “He eats good food, he rests well. Most importantly, he is very consistent, He can do the same programme day in and day out. He can repeat the boring things. I think that he has learnt from Virat. For success you need to be consistent.”
Franchise cricket can be a bane for fast bowlers these days, but not Siraj who Basu feels is custom built for bowling. “He keeps it very very simple. I don’t think he distinguishes between T20 and Tests. Basically, he likes to bowl a lot. And he is used to it from a very young age. So what applies to Siraj may not apply to another person.”