India pacer Mohammad Siraj has attributed his drop in pace and rhythm since the recent tour of Sri Lanka to an extended two-month break but asserted that bowling long spells in the Duleep Trophy has given him strong hints of pieces falling in place ahead of another international season. From the tour of the Island nation for a two-match Test series, Siraj looked a distant shadow of himself, bowling in the late 120s instead of his more regular pace of early to mid 140s. Siraj, who bowled 44 overs across four innings in that rubber, could not trouble the batters at any stage of the match While the spinners understandably handled the majority of overs.
“Coming off a two-month break straight into a match, my rhythm wasn’t quite there. I’m purely a rhythm bowler. After the one-off Test against Afghanistan that ended on June 8, Siraj took a two-month break before joining India’s tour of Sri Lanka, which began with a game against SLC XI on August 7.
If I’m not in sync, I simply can’t explode through the crease,” Siraj told select media after the Duleep Trophy final here.
“But for me, it comes down to passion. When you’re representing your country, you can’t make excuses. You have to give every ounce of effort for your team and nation. “Heading into this game, finding that flow was my primary goal. Playing this match helped me tremendously. After two months off, your body doesn’t react the same way—everything feels a beat slower. “My approach (to bowling crease) relies on fluid, uninterrupted acceleration rather than staccato steps. Coming back after a two-month layoff, my body was just recalibrating its stride lengths. In this match, it all felt completely natural again.
Siraj was taken to cleaners by East batters in the first innings here, conceding 140 runs in 25 overs, and had to wait till the second innings to take a wicket. The 32-year-old explained that his body is attuned to putting in hard yards rather than taking long breaks from the game, even though it allowed him to work on other facets like fitness parameters.
Getting through this game got my body moving again and brought my rhythm right back,” he said. An out of sync body also created the illusion of him using a shortened run-up, but Siraj said he has regained the flow in his action after bowling long spells in the Duleep Trophy.
