ENG vs IND 2025: In Jasprit Bumrah's absence, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj were absolutely superb - Darren Gough

Former England seamer Darren Gough lauded Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep for how they stepped up and delivered for India in the second Test at Edgbaston, especially in the absence of the talismanic Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested.

While Deep picked up 10 wickets across the two innings, Siraj bagged seven. India outplayed England to win the match by 336 runs and drew level in the five-match series with three games left to play.

“(While) India’s batting has been underrated, they’ve been fantastic, what I saw in the last Test match, without Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Siraj were absolutely superb," Gough told ANI at Yuvraj Singh’s charity gala event in London on Wednesday, July 9, supporting the former India cricketer’s YouWeCan cancer awareness charity programme.

Gough also praised Ravindra Jadeja's performance with the ball on the final day of the Edgbaston Test after he faced criticism for his underwhelming performance in the series opener at Headingley.

“Fair play to Jadeja as well, I thought Jadeja did a very good job on the last day. He was a worry in the first game but the way he came back on a flat pitch, not a thing available, he was outstanding as well," he said.

The five-match series is intriguingly poised at 1-1 after the first two Tests. The third Test is slated to begin on Thursday, July 10, and it will be played at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London.

Bumrah is expected to return to the side for the third Test, and Prasidh Krishna, who has been expensive so far on the tour, is likely to make way. The troika of Bumrah-Siraj-Deep will enjoy bowling at the Home of Cricket, as reports suggest that there will be a decent bit of assistance for the pacers. They have already shown their ability to trouble the England batters on good batting surfaces in the first two Tests, and they will be waiting eagerly to get a crack at them at the historic Lord's.