Talented India pacer Mohammed Siraj is one of the few players who wears his heart on his sleeve. He has made a reputation of troubling batters by bowling at consistent line and length. One of the most memorable outings Siraj had in international cricket was during India vs England 2021 Test series. On his first-ever tour with the national cricket team to England, Siraj bagged 14 wickets to finish as India's second-highest wicket-taker.
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Virat Kohli-led India returned home with a 2-1 lead as the five-match Test series was halted just before the fifth and final Test due to Covid-19 outbreak. Apart from his fiery spell with the ball, Siraj also helped India gain psychological advantage and he gave it back to England veteran bowler James Anderson after being abused by him. After getting a fitting response from Siraj, Anderson had complained to the then-captain Virat Kohli about it.
"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 revealed while speaking to Gaurav Kapur on Breakfast With Champions.
Jasprit Bumrah led India against England in the rescheduled fifth Test which was played in 2022. Rohit Sharma was forced to not take part in the rescheduled fixture after testing COVID-19 positive. Mohammed Siraj was part of Ind vs Eng 5th Test and took a four-fer but his bowling heroics went in vain as England defeated India by 7 wickets to level five-match series 2-2.