Missing Jasprit Bumrah's yorkers from home, Mohammed Siraj drops 'see you in RCB' message for India veteran

Before Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his third century to put Team India in complete control of the 3rd Test on Saturday, Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj picked four crucial wickets to help the hosts bowl the visitors out for 319. Siraj's bowling heroics against England paved the way for Rohit Sharma and Co. to earn a healthy first-innings lead of 126 on Day 3 of the 3rd Test at Rajkot.

India missed the services of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who withdrew from the ongoing 3rd Test due to a family emergency. A day before Siraj spearheaded India's bowling response, Ashwin became the ninth international bowler to reach 500 Test wickets at Rajkot. With Ashwin leaving the match midway due to a medical emergency, uncapped Devdutt Padikkal walked on as a substitute fielder.

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Siraj shines in Ashwin's absence

With India without peerless Ashwin, pacer Siraj engineered the comeback of the hosts by triggering a mini-collapse. A day after taking the prized scalp of Ollie Pope, pacer Siraj outsmarted Ben Stokes before he cleaned up Rehan Ahmed and James Anderson in the 1st innings. From 290 for 5, England eventually folded for 319 in 71.1 overs. Speaking to veteran batter Dinesh Karthik on Jio Cinema after Stumps on Day 3 in Rajkot, pacer Siraj opened up about spending quality time with family and training for the Rajkot Test. To manage workload, Siraj was rested for the 2nd Test that India won by 106 runs.

Siraj's ‘see you in RCB’ message for Karthik

Issuing a cheeky response to Karthik, pacer Siraj also said that he missed Bumrah's yorkers from home. "I did nothing. I was with my family, I enjoyed, 5 days I took a break, and then I trained at home. I was missing Jasprit (Bumrah) bhai's yorkers from home, so I thought that I will do it here in Rajkot. Thank you DK bhai, see you in RCB," Siraj signed off. Pacer Siraj will link up with Karthik at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

New milestone for India pacer

Speedster Siraj completed 150 wickets for India in international cricket. The Indian pacer took four for 81 in 21.5 overs for the hosts. Fast bowler Siraj has 152 wickets under his belt in 76 international appearances. “We had only four bowlers and we had a responsibility. We knew they would attack so we spoke about sticking together knowing that they would make a mistake. We didn’t plan anything much, we were waiting for them to make a mistake. I knew the yorker would be a good wicket-taking option,” Siraj said.