“I could feel I was not enjoying my bowling,” he said at the end of the tour game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra on Sunday. “As a person I am someone who gets a different feeling when I am enjoying my bowling, even if I am not getting wickets. And now when I was not getting wickets, I was digging a little deeper. Why was I not getting wickets? You know the spinners bowl most of the overs, so it is a bit difficult to get wickets (as a fast bowler). I was a little worried that I was not getting wickets but now I’m having a lot of fun getting wickets.”
Even though it is only one match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Siraj has already got close to his tally of wickets in the last three months with five wickets in Perth. He contacted former India bowling coach Bharat Arun for help in finding his centre.
Siraj said, “I talked to Bharat Arun sir that this is what is happening with me.” “Because he has known me for a long time and he has seen my bowling for a long time. So he told me to enjoy and not run after wickets. Just enjoy and you will get wickets. And before the trip, I (fielding) I met (coach) Dilip sir in Hyderabad and we also practiced together, so it felt good and now I am enjoying.
“Morn (Morkel, India’s current bowling coach) keeps telling me that ‘you are a warrior’. ‘You will get us wickets, but you just keep enjoying your bowling.’
“This (pink) ball has an artificial feel to it,” Siraj said. “It’s different from the red ball we play with. There might be a bit of confusion because of the ball, but it’s just a match so we Just have to focus on it and we will improve day by day. The seam is very tough, and quite big. The more you practice with it, the better you will get.
“I think with the pink ball, it is better to bowl back length. Because there is not much swing when pitching it higher, so the more you hit the deck and get it on the seam, the better it is for us.
“I’ve heard the ball swings a lot under lights but I haven’t bowled with it under lights yet. So when we go to Adelaide and practice, we’ll try it. And the more practice we get, the more we’ll know.” “How about telling us more about what to do.”
“I always talk to Jassi Brother (Bumrah),” Siraj said. “Even before the first match, I had talked to him about what I was going through. And he told me just one thing – don’t run after the wicket, just keep bowling consistently in one area and enjoy your bowling. If you still don’t get wickets then you ask me. So I enjoyed my bowling and got wickets also.
“Australia is a place where a fast bowler enjoys because you get pace and bounce. As a fast bowler, you get everything you want. So you have to come here and enjoy your bowling. You get a different kind of confidence.”
