"Didn't Look At His Best": Brutal Reality-Check Provided On India Star Ahead Of Sri Lanka Test Series

With Jasprit Bumrah out injured and spin-friendly conditions in play in Sri Lanka, India's pace attack is set for a big challenge in the upcoming two-match Test series, starting August 15. In Bumrah's absence, Mohammed Siraj will have to take the responsibility of spearheading India's fast-bowling unit. However, Siraj is not in the best of form, having picked up just two wickets in his last two red-ball outings. Former India cricketer and reputed commentator Murali Kartik provided a reality-check on Siraj ahead of the Sri Lanka series.

Kartik tipped Siraj to be the leader of the pace unit, but admitted that he hasn't looked at his best of late.

"Once again, it has to be Siraj (leading the pace attack) because we saw what he did in England. He didn't look at his best; I watched a bit of the footage of the warm-up game that they had. I'm pretty sure he was easing his way back in," Kartik said, in an interview with Times Now.

"And you know, I was talking to a few of my friends in Sri Lanka; it is pretty warm and muggy, as it is in the rest of India as well with all the monsoons and the sun out. So it does take a lot out of a bowler, and he might have been easing himself in," Kartik further said.

Siraj managed figures of 0/44 and 1/25 in the two innings of India's three-day warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, which took place ahead of the series.

In June, Siraj had returned figures of 0/29 and 1/11 in India's one-off Test against Afghanistan.

With Bumrah out of action, Siraj will have to lead an otherwise inexperienced attack. While the 32-year-old Siraj is a veteran of 46 Tests, Prasidh Krishna has just seven Tests under his belt, while one of Gurnoor Brar or Auqib Nabi is likely to make their debut in the series.

Featured Video Of The Day

Topics mentioned in this article

Mohammed Siraj Murali Kartik India Cricket Team Sri Lanka vs India, 2026 Cricket