Since the Cape Town Test earlier this year, Mohammed Siraj has 12 wickets at 42.83 runs each in 14 innings. He has been wicketless nine times, accounting for 64.28% of the total innings. All this playing at home.

His pace has been consistently below 135 kmph, which doesn’t work on Indian decks unless it is similar to Bengaluru’s during the first innings. Such pitches are hardly available and most surfaces on the subcontinent are dry and low. His new ball bowling is useless; He has only a solitary wicket in 378 balls and reaches 4.17 runs per over in the first 20 overs.

He has often erred on the lower side and ended up getting hit. Since his pace has been low, Siraj has also not managed any reverse swing with the old ball. There are several reasons behind his lukewarm performances, but the biggest one has been excessive streaming across all formats, which has drained him.

Look beyond Siraj or back him?

Since 2023, Siraj has played 51 matches across all formats, the most among Indian pacers, and most of them in longer formats. He has participated in 15 Tests, the second most, while 28 ODIs, the sixth most and the most among Indian pacers. He also played in the 2024 T20 World Cup and two seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL) amidst all this.

There has been a lot of talk to omit it, especially after New Zealand’s historic victory over India last week. The fact that Akash Deep has taken 8 wickets at 23.12 runs apiece in three Test matches to start his career has exacerbated Siraj’s case. He has done what Siraj couldn’t – take wickets with the new ball, as 7 of his eight Test wickets came in the first 15 overs at an average of 7.85.

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He is a quintessential Indian bowler. Akash bowls to that good length area and comes close to the stumps, bringing LBW and bowling into play. Data published by cricket.com revealed that Akash bowled 73.6% of deliveries between 6 and 8 meters and hit the stumps 27.3% of the time.

His meteoric rise and Siraj’s decline together justified Akash starting ahead of Siraj in the next game. That shouldn’t be a problem; India can do it and will probably get better results. However, India should be careful about abandoning Siraj in Australia and not prefer Akash.

Siraj’s numbers have historically been mediocre at home, but he found ways to succeed in foreign conditions. He was fabulous on his first tour of Australia, finishing as India’s leading wicket-taker despite playing only three matches. He took 13 wickets at an average of 29.54 in six innings, including a five-wicket haul.

He hit the deck hard, especially in that last match at The Gabba, and consistently took an extra kick from the deck with variable bounce. Such tracks always provide extra speed and Siraj’s natural lengths suited those conditions. Even his lines are more ideal than Akash’s for Australian conditions as players need to shift their attacking area slightly towards or away from the stump, especially as the ball ages.