India has managed to push every Test till the last day thanks to his massive contributions
The 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will be remembered for a number of things. In years to come, people who had followed all five matches, will think about all the matches going into the final day all the way to the final session, the verbal battles that spiced things up and both captains – Ben Stokes and Shubman Gill – leading their teams with example.
The runs flowed, but there were clear ebbs and flows in every match. No team dominated fully even though the current lead of 2-1 in favour of England suggests. But the series will also be remembered as the one which finally got Mohammed Siraj the recognition he deserved.
After toiling for 6-7 years as an all-format regular, the Hyderabad pacer didn’t sacrifice his pace or intensity and was the only constant in overseas Test tours. Siraj’s numbers such as his average and economy fail to convey his necessity for the team.
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He doesn’t have the express pace or the mercurial swing and seam like the other stars, but the 30-year-old has done the most essential part for his team, tirelessly running in over after over, session after session with the ball.
When he couldn’t get the ball to talk, he kept rankling the opponents, setting them up for his team mates or bowling at full title when pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah sat out. Former England captain Michael Atherton was effusive in his praise for Siraj, describing him as that ‘one team mate who grew taller when the going got tough.’
“He’s the type of cricketer that makes other people rise up as well. We had one back in my time – Darren Gough – who made people just play better because the way they carried on in the field and in the dressing room,” Atherton said on Sky Sports.
“When the going gets tough, there are some characters that just grow a bit taller and everybody’s gonna look at him,” he added.
Gough, who was an express speedster, played 58 Tests for England between 1994 and 2003 claiming 229 wickets at an average of 28 including nine five-wicket hauls. The exertions of bowling rockets led to Gough’s multiple injuries and calling time on his career at just 33 and unfortunately miss out on being part of the famous 2005 Ashes victory.
Siraj, meanwhile, has managed to keep himself fit to bowl endless spells in his career of 40 Tests and is leading the wicket-takers’ list with 18 scalps from nine innings against England.
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