India’s new find Mohammed Siraj has said that it is not sure whether he will get a chance in the final of the World Test Championship. He added that she is very determined to bowl and win important matches for the team.

Mohammad Siraj is in fray to be the part of Playing XI for the final of WTC

Dominant Indian side will face consistent New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship which starts on June 18. The match will be played at Ageas bowl in Southampton. New Zealand preparing for the WTC final by playing a two match series against England in England. The first match ended in a draw and left out worries for the New Zealand team as Williamson Santana and BJ Watling are unlikely to feature in the second test.

Siraj has been grown up as different bowler since is returned from the Australian tour which has recently been concluded. The Hyderabad pacer pick the five wicket haul in the final test and LED Indian team to clinch the series in Australia.

India is full of medium pace options like Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav , Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma. Siraj will find difficult to make a way in the playing 11.

Siraj played the Australian series with the heavy heart as he had lost his father after arriving in Australia but he decided to remain in Australia for the series and end up picking up the highest number of wickets for India. He took 13 wickets in 3 days. He started a series as a backup bowler but finished it as a leader of the bowling unit.

Siraj has the ability to shock the opposition

“Frankly, on the Australian tour, I was not thinking too much about making my Test debut. But, when I got the chance, I just tried to give back everything that I had as a bowler,” he said.

According to some reports Virat Kohli is eager to include Mohammed Siraj in the playing 11. But the Indian team management will find the difficult to select the team. The promising performance by Sharma, Shami and Bumrah cannot be excluded.

Recently Ashish Nehra pushed the Indian Management to pick Siraj in the Playing XI

The former Indian Pacer Ashish Nehra thinks that if the final would be played on a green top ,India should include an extra Seamer in the face of Mohammed Siraj. Siraj has been performing wonderfully for the Indian team.
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Pros of Siraj including Mohd. Siraj in the Playing XI

Siraj has many pros that makes him a most probable contender for the world test Championship final. Siraj has the ability to swing the ball both ways. He has control over his swing bowling. He has shown this in the IPL and as well as on the Australian tour. When Azharuddin was asked about the ability of Siraj to swing the ball he said ‘Siraj can definitely perform well in England as the ball will swing and turn around. He will be an ideal bowler under English conditions. “The way he has bowled so far shows that he has the pace and control to cause problems for the best of New Zealand batsmen.”

Azharuddin also echoed his voice for including Siraj in the Playing XI for the Final

He bowls with the decent line and length. He does not give much room to the batsman to free their arms. Bowling wicket to wicket in the English conditions can benefit the Indians. He is much like Ishant Sharma who keeps the batsman quiet.

Siraj has an extra pace which can be effective in those conditions. India can go with three quick bowlers which can generate extra pace from the Wicket. When Mohammad Azharuddin was asked about extra pace, he added ‘Well, I feel he has a natural ability to bowl at a hostile pace and move the ball around.’

Siraj can bowl long spells which is required when a team goes with only three bowler in the conditions like England. The main bowlers like Bumrah and Shami can get rest due to his long spells. He used to belong spells for his Ranji Trophy team.

Cons of including Mohd. Siraj in the Playing XI

There are factors which go against Siraj. This factor could exclude him from the final playing 11. Captain Virat Kohli and the team management will also look after this factor before going to the toss on 18th June.

Siraj celebrating in Brisbane Test

Siraj is not much tested at this level. Meanwhile the other bowlers like Ishant Sharma and Jaspreet bumrah are full of experience. Pressure handling can play a huge role in the final. India can rather go with the experienced campaigners because they had been in situations like these. He has yet not translated his domestic performance into International performances. He has always been included in the Indian team as the backup bowler. Is promotion in the team can pledge his career.
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The Other factor which could overrule selection of Siraj in final playing 11 is that when he is not in rhythm he can leak too much of runs. Despite a great performance in Australia, his economy was the only problem for the Indian team. Leaking runs in the all important final can cost the game for the team. We have seen in the IPL when he is under pressure he bowls poor line and length.

The final selection will be made in the presence of Indian captain Virat Kohli by the team management. What team things can be totally different from what we think. When Siraj was asked about his selection in the final playing 11 of WTC final he said,

“Whenever I got a chance I gave my 100 per cent and the best part was that as a bowler I could execute all the plans,” says the bowler, who has 16 wickets from five Tests including a five for 73 in the Brisbane Test in Australia. “Playing for any team and in any match, I always try to give my 100 per cent. I would love to deliver what the team expects from me.”

Mohammad Siraj with the Border-Gavaskar trophy

“Yes, by the grace of God and thanks to the all-round support of the entire Indian team, I was able to make some impact on the team’s performances in Test matches. Now, aiming to be a consistent bowler in limited-overs formats too,” he added.

Our team wishes Siraj a great career and hope that he could win matches for the Indian team.

Also Read : Top 5 India vs New Zealand clashes in ICC events

By Shivanshu Chauhan

A Professional Cricketer for past 4 Years for the teams of Lucknow and CISCE. He keeps an eye on all the Cricket insights which sometimes professional journos lack. He Keeps the wicket on the 22 Yards and takes care of the board meetings over here. No Official Statements go off from the website because of him. He keeps you updated by breaking News both in English and Hindi.