Siraj played a one-off Test against Afghanistan, which ended on June 8. India’s star pacer Mohammed Siraj has opened up on the dip in his performance in Test cricket of late. The right-arm fast bowler, who is adept at providing the team with crucial breakthroughs in the longest format of the game, attributed his drop in pace and rhythm since the recent tour of Sri Lanka to an extended two-month break. After this, the bowler took a two-month break before playing another Test match for India. This time, it was a two-game series in Sri Lanka.
India’s star pacer Mohammed Siraj has opened up on the dip in his performance in Test cricket of late.
Siraj’s mediocre run with the ball continued as he returned with match figures of 1/187 while playing for South Zone against East Zone in the final of the Duleep Trophy 2026 in Chennai.
If I’m not in sync, I simply can’t explode through the crease,” Siraj told the media after the Duleep Trophy final. We came straight from Sri Lanka, where we spent three and a half days fielding in the second Test (in Colombo), and within a week, we were out here playing in Chennai’s sweltering heat,” the fast bowler said. he claimed a total of four wickets in two matches in Sri Lanka While Siraj picked up one wicket against Afghanistan. His below-par show in the island nation cost India badly as Sri Lanka managed to eke out a draw in the second Test match. “Coming off a two-month break straight into a match, my rhythm wasn’t quite there. I’m purely a rhythm bowler. “Out here, everything clicked into place, and the pace followed naturally. Yes, it was very tough. “But for me, it comes down to passion. When you’re representing your country, you can’t make excuses. You have to give every ounce of effort for your team and nation.
Even if I didn’t get the wickets to show for it today (in the Duleep Trophy final), that hard work will pay off at the international level,” he concluded.
