ENG vs IND 2025: 'He was angry with me' - Ajinkya Rahane recalls Mohammed Siraj's reaction to his captaincy decision during 2020-2021 Australia tour

Ajinkya Rahane heaped praise on Mohammed Siraj for his excellent outing in the recently-concluded five-match Test series against England in the United Kingdom. The Hyderabad speedster finished as the leading wicket-taker, bagging 23 wickets from five matches at an average of 32.43. Apart from the wickets he took, what stood out was the fact that he played all the games in the series and bowled as many as 1110 legitimate deliveries.

Rahane recalled how Siraj was angry with him during his debut Test series, which was against Australia in 2020-2021. The Mumbai batter was the stand-in captain for the last three games of the tour. He mentioned how disappointed Siraj was, as he felt he had been brought into the attack late.

According to Rahane, Siraj's aggression and intensity make him a more lethal bowler. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain said that Siraj is one of the rare seamers in world cricket who seems well warmed up even when delivering his first ball.

"What I like about Siraj is that he always liked to bowl longer spells. Even in the 2020-21 series, he was willing to do that with the same intensity. In Australia, when he was making his debut, he was angry because I had introduced him into the attack very late. He still has the anger inside him. This anger brings out the best in Mohammed Siraj. We saw in the England series. The aggression in his bowling and the intensity with which he bowls, he is always warmed up by the time he bowls his first ball. This is the great quality of a great bowler," said Rahane on his YouTube channel.

"Sometimes, other bowlers take 8-10 balls to warm up. Some bowlers take two balls to do so. But Siraj is always there. Just like James Anderson, he is always there from ball no.1. Even when he is bowling his eighth or ninth over in the spell, he still has the same aggression and intensity," he added.

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The responsibility helped him when Jasprit Bumrah was not there: Rahane

Rahane noted how Siraj has learned to take more responsibility, especially while bowling in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who played just three Tests against England.

"I have noticed one change in him; he is confident about his own fields. When a bowler tells the captain, 'Give me this field', then it becomes really easy. In this series, the responsibility helped him when Jasprit Bumrah was not there," he added.

Rahane wasn't picked in the West Zone's squad for the upcoming edition of the Duleep Trophy. The right-handed batter is looking to make a comeback to the Indian team, having last played for the Asian giants in July 2023.