Thee Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy was drawn at 2-2.
Mohammed Siraj and Joe Root were at each other in the five-match Test series in England this year. Though the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy was shared with a score line of 2-2 at the end of the five Tests, there were moments from the series which created a lot of buzz. One of those was Siraj and Root going against each other.
The Indian pacer was the star of the fifth and final Test at The Oval. He ended up with a prolific five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Test match to secure a nail-biting victory for India. However, the match and the series did not come without the altercations between the Indian spearhead and the English No.4. In an interview, Root also coined Siraj’s aggression as fake angriness.
Having said that, the 31-year-old speedster has opened up about the interaction with Joe Root on the field, and has also expressed why he did not intend to sledge the English legend. Furthermore, he also stated that he does get angry when a batter smashes him for a boundary and opined that the feeling must be there for a bowler.
As per Mohammed Siraj, aggression is a very important trait for a fast bowler. When a batter hits one for a boundary, a bowler cannot just smile and take it in his favour. And that is exactly why Siraj gets angry. He expressed that he does get agitated as a bowler when batters go after him. The 31-year-old also went on to state that the anger calms down after he gets a wicket.
Against Joe Root, it is a different occasion. The English batter has a different and unique way to tackle the bowlers who choose to sledge him. Root just keeps smiling at the bowler, trying to diffuse the situation in his way. But by doing so, the entire purpose of the bowler trying to get on to the batter’s nerves is left unaccomplished. And this is why Siraj never chose to sledge the English legend.
“He is the first person who makes me calm and smile when I look at him. So during the England tour I decided I am not going to look at him or talk to him. Even if he was at the non-striker’s end and I was fielding at mid-off, he would come to talk to me but I would not talk to him. I would just walk away somewhere else”, said Siraj about the altercation with Joe Root.
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The Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer went on to state that he is a very calm and composed person off the field. But he also stated that when one is playing for the country, they need to put their 100% effort forward, and cannot take anything for granted. This is where Mohammed Siraj gets his ‘give it everything’ attitude from.
To add to that, he also stated that this aggression is something he has learnt from South African speedster Dale Steyn. Mohammed Siraj also voiced the importance of aggression in the sport.
“Aggression is very important. If a batsman hits you and you are relaxed and smile… What kind of cricket is that?” said Siraj in the interview.
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