In Mohammed Shami's absence, Mohammed Siraj was anticipated to take on Jasprit Bumrah's duties, but the Indian pacer, in his debut appearance on the tour of England, caused more problems for his bowling partner than alleviation. Siraj gave up 2/122, allowing England to hammer 466 in their first innings, and became the fourth Indian centurion of the Headingley Test. However, Siraj's demeanor and unwillingness to learn from his errors were more frustrating than his erratic bowling. Siraj enjoys being aggressive and provoking the opposing batsman; it's not a secret. He reiterates the fine line that exists between looking sexy and looking stupid when he doesn't remove it, but he appears to be worth a million dollars when he does.

Regretfully, the latter was the case on day three of the inaugural Test at Headingly. Siraj's body language suggested that he was losing his mind in addition to giving up runs. Maybe he was annoyed for the same reason that he tried to attack Harry Brook. Brook was hit in the pads by a ball from Siraj during the 84th over. Before the hitter ultimately responded with anything, Siraj just stood there staring at Brook. And that was all that was necessary. After a little bit of back-and-forth conversation, Brook eventually silenced Siraj, who had only mumbled a few words in response. The England batter only needed that to get excited, since Brook then proceeded to inflict a devastating massacre on the Indian bowlers.

Brook raced into the 90s with six, four, and four off Siraj's following over, after being dropped by Yashasvi Jaiswal an over ago. He appeared to be on track for a century, but after receiving three reprieves, Brook was dismissed for 99 when he hooked a ball from Prasidh Krishna directly down Shardul Thakur's throat at fine leg. Jaiswal and Siraj sighed with relief, but this does not conceal the bigger picture: Siraj's unchecked aggression. Dinesh Karthik, the former Indian wicketkeeper who was providing commentary, masterfully explained what is wrong with Siraj's aggressiveness and why it is more likely to fail than succeed.

During the IPL 2025, Mohammed Siraj and Dinesh Karthik had a chat

"Interesting to see Siraj get a little aggressive." Take a look at him. Strikes the elbow. Siraj had something to say. He likes to be aggressive. He was also up against RCB. He turned hostile. He eventually faced Phil Salt in a match. Delhi hosted the game. According to Karthik, he was "chasing and he thought it was the best way to get himself pumped it."

"After a few words from Siraj, Phil Salt took off after him. Siraj, I asked, "Why did you have to go after him?" after the game ended. He responded, "No, I just wanted to instil some fear," as you were bowling so well. However, that's what he enjoys, I retorted. "You should have told me before the game started, not after I got hit," he retorted right away.

For a while, India has been worried about Siraj's performance with the ball. The pacer was selected to India's 18-man squad after displaying promise for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL, despite being left off of India's Champions Trophy team. Siraj shouldn't mind making some adjustments to reclaim his place as a formidable ball threat, even though he has a long way to go.