"You may have 600 wickets but I don't care"- When Mohammed Siraj annoyed James Anderson by sledging

Mohammed Siraj has been making quite a reputation for himself as someone who likes to have a chat with the batters to disturb their rhythm. He is a very passionate player and believes in wearing his heart on his sleeve.

However, there have been times where he has required help from his Indian teammates to sledge a player. One such instance was when he was sledged by England veteran pacer James Anderson during the Test series.

On the show 'Breakfast with Champions', Mohammed Siraj explained how cricketers like Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant helped him give it back to James Anderson with a one-liner that the veteran certainly wasn't amused with:

"In England once when I and Jassi bhai (Bumrah) were batting, Anderson came to me and abused me. I got angry and I had decided I will give it back to him when he walks out to bat. When he came to bat, I walked straight at him and told him, 'You may have 600 wickets but I don't care because you don't respect me.' He didn't like it one bit and went to Virat bhai and complained about me. Axar and Rishabh had helped me in forming a sentence to give it back to Anderson."

Siraj also spoke about the importance of a bowler showing aggression and getting into the head of a batter. He added:

"You can't get a wicket if you don't distract the batter and induce him to play a false shot. You need to be a little naughty and try and provoke the batter. Just smiling back at him won't work."

---

Mohammed Siraj on Jasprit Bumrah's advice

Mohammed Siraj has accepted that there will be days that fast bowlers like him will be hit for plenty of runs and that would bring in a lot of pressure. However, he opened up on what fellow Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has told him to follow whenever he encounters such situations.

On this, Siraj stated:

"It's not that Jassi bhai (Bumrah) doesn't get angry. It's just that he builds it within. He will not like it when a batter defends or leaves his deliveries. He always advised me to keep singing to yourself in pressure situations as it helps you deal with it."

Mohammed Siraj has a massive opportunity to step up in Bumrah's absence and help India win the World Test Championship final against Australia next month.