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R Ashwin’s admiration for Jasprit Bumrah is well known, but on Monday, speaking on his Hindi YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat, he showered praise on Mohammed Siraj.Siraj claimed a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the fifth Test at The Oval, helping India defeat England by six runs in a thriller to draw the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2.
Siraj’s nine-wicket match haul not only earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award but also widespread acclaim from fans and former cricketers.“Let’s celebrate Mohammed Siraj. He’s leading the bowling charts with 22 wickets,” Ashwin said.“What made me so happy about Siraj’s performance is this—during the T20 World Cup, he praised Jasprit Bumrah saying, ‘Jassi bhai is magic.’ But today, it wasn’t Jassi bhai, it was Miyaan bhai who was truly instrumental in helping India level the series.”
“We won both Tests without Bumrah. Siraj led the attack. Akash Deep took 10 wickets at Edgbaston, but this Test belongs to Siraj, and he’s finally getting the credit he deserves. We need to celebrate him more.”“The cricketing gods have been fair to him. Even when he gets it wrong, he never stops charging in. He’s bowled consistently close to 140 kmph across five Tests. It would have been easy to walk off with niggles, but he never took a comfort break. He stayed in the middle. If Shubman got a wicket through Prasidh, it was Siraj who kept the pressure on.”“Cricketing gods notice these things. He got the perfect bowling conditions on the final day and delivered a win for India. May his tribe grow. Tere jaisa insaan milna mushkil hai (It’s rare to find someone like you).”
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Ashwin also compared Siraj to Bumrah and called him a generational cricketer.“We say players like Jasprit Bumrah are once-in-a-generation talents. But someone like Siraj, with that kind of attitude, is just as rare—especially from India. Mohammed Siraj, for his attitude alone, is a generational cricketer,” Ashwin added.
