Is Mohammed Siraj the Ideal Partner for Bumrah in Tests?

The Indian pace bowling line-up has seen various bowlers in the Test format, but only two of them have remained consistently for the team. One of them is Jasprit Bumrah, while the other is his bowling partner, Mohammed Siraj. Bumrah has surely gotten the limelight for his star performances, but Siraj’s contribution often goes unnoticed.

Siraj has played 37 Test matches till now for the Indian cricket team and taken 102 wickets at an average of 31.33, with an economy rate of 3.50 runs per over. Making his debut for the team in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, he went on to take 5 wickets in his first Test match.

But over the past few years, he has received relentless trolling from the fans for his inconsistent performances. After the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he was also dropped from the Indian cricket team, being replaced by pacers such as Mohammad Shami, Harshit Rana, and many more.

Upon his replacement, former Test skipper Rohit Sharma said, “Siraj’s effectiveness comes down if he doesn’t use the new ball. It’s unfortunate if he misses out.” He missed out on the Champions Trophy 2025, but has made a comeback for the team in the tour of England, coming back to partner with Jasprit Bumrah.

Matches	Innings	Wickets	Average	Economy
37	68	102	31.33	3.50

Even after receiving a number of trolls, he has been able to deliver well for the team across the Tests, both home and away. Let’s take a look at Siraj’s performances in the Test format, which have helped him to be the ideal partner for Bumrah in the Test format.

Performances in Home Tests

Mohammed Siraj has not been able to give his best performances for the team in the Home Tests. Having played in 14 home tests, he has taken 19 wickets in 25 innings at an average of 37 and an economy of 3.54 runs per over. But, it should be noted that Siraj has been able to put up the required pressure on the batsmen with his bowling skills.

He played his first Home match against England during the England tour of India 2021. In the 2nd Test being played at Chennai, which is a spinner-friendly pitch, Siraj secured one wicket in both innings and conceded just 11 runs in 8 overs combined. In the 4th Test, he took the wickets of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow in the first innings, giving a crucial breakthrough.

Following his economical performances, Mohammed Siraj also got a chance to play in the 2nd test against New Zealand. He proved his worth by taking 3 wickets (Will Young, Tom Latham, and Ross Taylor) in the first innings and going for none in the second innings. This was also the only Test match played by Siraj in this series.

During the Australia tour of India 2023, Mohammed Siraj received consistent opportunities to play for the team in the home tests. But since the match was being played in India, spinners were bowling more often than the pacers, due to which he bowled 24 overs combined in all three Tests he played. He took just one wicket at an average of 73 and an economy of 87. 3.04.

After a long break from the Home Tests, Siraj made his spot in the next home series against England, which was played in 2024. This time, he had been a major part of the team’s pace line-up and ended up playing 4 matches, where he took 6 wickets at an average of 46 and an economy of 4.10 runs per over. In the third Test, Siraj bowled an auspicious spell, taking 4 wickets for 84 runs, with the wickets of Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, and James Anderson. But taking a look at all the innings when he bowled, Siraj was able to take wickets in only two of them.

Following that, he also played both Test matches against Bangladesh, which were played in Chennai and Kanpur. Having played both games, he took 4 wickets in 4 innings at an average of 34.50, and an economy of 3.35 runs per over. This shows that Siraj surely faced some issues with his bowling consistency when he played home tests.

The last home test series played by Mohammed Siraj was against New Zealand, where India suffered a whitewash loss. Having played just two out of three matches, he took just 2 wickets at an average of 58 and an economy of 3.74. However, all the Indian pacers were unable to perform well in this series, as Bumrah also ended up with just 3 wickets in 2 matches.

Performance in Away Tests

Although Siraj has not been able to deliver consistently in the home conditions, his away form has been just the opposite. In 22 away Tests, he has taken an impressive total of 78 wickets at an average of 29.55, and an economy of 3.46 runs per over, with 3 five-wicket hauls. This shows that he is mainly a pace star for the team in overseas conditions.

Playing his first overseas Tests in Australia, Siraj was a part of the Indian team for the Australia tour in 2020-21. He finished as the leading wicket-taker for India with 13 wickets in 6 innings at an average of 29.53, showcasing his dominance in the first series he ever played. In the Gabba Test, Siraj took the wicket of David Warner in the first innings. He also went on to dominate the Aussies in their 2nd innings, where he took a 5-wicket haul, conceding 73 runs in 19.5 overs.

Mohammed Siraj was not just part of the team’s one historic series win in overseas conditions. After winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he was also a part of the team in the England tour, which was played in 2021-22, under the captaincy of Bumrah and Kohli. He gave his peak performances, taking 18 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 33 and an economy of 3.87 runs per over. In the historic Lord’s win, Siraj was the highest wicket-taker with 4 wickets each in both innings.

After some good performances in his first two away Test series, he also made his way to the Indian line-up for the South Africa tour in 2021-22. Unfortunately, this tour didn’t go well for Siraj, as he took 3 wickets in 2 matches at an average of 51 and an economy of 3.12 runs per over. On the other hand, he also bowled many fewer overs as compared to the other pacers such as Shami and Bumrah.

Mohammed Siraj went on to play in the India tour of Bangladesh 2022, where India missed out on their star pacers. But this time, Siraj showcased his strength and took 6 wickets in 2 matches at an average of 27.83 and an economy of 3.21 runs per over. Along with Umesh Yadav, Siraj spearheaded the team’s pace line-up in this Test series. As a result, India won this series by 2-0, with a clear domination.

After India’s loss in the World Test Championship 2023 final, Siraj went on to play for the team in the India tour of West Indies, which was a two-match Test series. He finished as the team’s leading wicket-taker among the pacers, with 7 wickets in 2 matches at an average of 17.85, and an economy rate of 2.51 runs per over. In the second Test, he took another 5-wicket haul, which helped him to win the POTM award.

Even though Siraj was not able to perform well in his previous tour of South Africa, he was given another chance by the team, which he surely didn’t miss. Playing two matches, he took 9 wickets in 3 innings at an average of 15.22 and an economy of 3.26 runs per over. In the second Test, he bowled exceptional figures of 6/15 in the first innings, bowling out South Africa for just 55. India won the match by 7 wickets, and Siraj received another POTM award.

Siraj was also a part of the Indian team in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which was being played in Australia. He finished as the team’s second-highest wicket-taker, just behind Bumrah, with 20 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 31.15, and an economy of 3.96 runs per over. His stats in the BGT were better than Mitchell Starc’s, and he also bowled more overs than Jasprit Bumrah’s.

The Value of Siraj in the Test Setup

The Indian bowling line-up already has Jasprit Bumrah as the pace star, who has been leading the wickets chart for a long time, giving the required breakthroughs to the team when needed. But amidst this, the contribution of Siraj cannot be denied as a phrase says, “Fact is, Walter White couldn’t have done it, without me.” And in this case, Siraj comes out as the ideal partner for Bumrah. Although his performances have not been consistent lately, he is still able to prove his worth to the team with the opportunities he has been given.