"No one has bowled more overs than him" - Aakash Chopra on Mohammed Siraj's importance for India ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former India player Aakash Chopra has highlighted Mohammed Siraj's importance for the Indian team over the last few years. He pointed out that the Hyderabad seamer has bowled more overs than any other Indian pacer across formats over the last couple of years.

India trail England 2-1 in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, with the fourth Test of the five-match series scheduled to start in Manchester on Wednesday, July 23. With 13 scalps at an average of 32.00 in six innings, Siraj has been the highest wicket-taker across both sides in the first three Tests.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that Mohammed Siraj is only behind Ravindra Jadeja in terms of the number of overs bowled by an Indian bowler across formats since the beginning of 2023.

"If you see Siraj's workload over the last two years (since January 1, 2023), you will have to sit back and admire, and appreciate. If you talk about the fast bowlers across the world, he is in the third spot in terms of the number of overs bowled. Pat Cummins (871.3 overs), Mitchell Starc (856.2 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (792.5 overs) are there in that," Chopra said (3:00).

"When we look at it from the Indian point of view, no one has bowled more overs than him. In fact, if we see overall for India, he is in the second spot, only behind Jaddu. Jaddu (990 overs) has bowled nearly 1000 overs, and he has also bowled close to 800. He bowls a lot of overs," he added.

Chopra highlighted that the Indian team management knows how lucky they are to have Siraj in the side.

"Ryan ten Doeschate also said that we don't talk about Siraj enough, but we are fortunate to have him in the team. He gives everything he has. He doesn't hold back anything. It's a blessing. If you look at it from a captain's perspective, many times in Tests, you look towards your bowlers, and fast bowlers turn their backs at times. Mohammed Siraj is not one of them," he reasoned.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Mohammed Siraj's perseverance makes him a very, very special bowler. While observing that Miyan Magic, as Siraj is fondly called, reminds him of Ishant Sharma, he added that such bowlers become the captain's favorite.

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"You will look inferior whenever you are with an all-time great" - Aakash Chopra on Mohammed Siraj playing with Jasprit Bumrah

Mohammed Siraj has picked up 117 wickets in 60 matches since the beginning of 2023. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Mohammed Siraj is overshadowed by Jasprit Bumrah at times, highlighting that other batters weren't noticed enough when they played alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

"Not all bowlers might be as skillful as Bumrah, and at times, when you are with Bumrah, you aren't noticed despite being skillful. You will look inferior whenever you are with an all-time great. Then people will dismiss you. It would have seemed like that when people were playing with Sachin paaji and Virat," he said (5:40).

Citing the example of KL Rahul's dropped catch of Jamie Smith in the Lord's Test, the cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Siraj has also been let down by the Indian fielders at times.

"That does not mean the guy is not good. He is skillful. Sometimes a bowler like Siraj is dependent on others. If you look at Bumrah, he gets a lot of dismissals bowled. Siraj's best wicket-taking method is caught by others. If he doesn't get that help, like Jamie Smith's catch was dropped, the poor guy keeps bowling, but is unable to pick up those many wickets," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra praised Mohammed Siraj for working hard after being dropped from India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad, highlighting that the seamer hasn't looked back since his return to the side. The analyst added that he has never seen Siraj bowl with less than 100 percent effort, irrespective of the game situation and conditions, terming the 31-year-old a workhorse and a warhorse.