Former England captain David Gower applauded Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj for his heroics in the recently concluded five-Test series as well. Siraj led the charts of wickets with 23 at an average of 32.43, including two 5-wicket hauls as well. Furthermore, he was one of only two pace bowlers to play in all five Tests, bowling a remarkable 185.3 overs during the series and helped India draw the series 2-2 as well.

Talking about the pacer’s phenomenal endurance levels in an interview on the Free Press Journal YouTube channel, Gower said, “I would love to know what he takes, what he eats and what he drinks because I want to give all that to England’s bowlers. For Siraj, one of the things that struck me was he has played all five Tests and was unstinting. Yet, he bowled more than 30 overs in that England second innings (Oval) because seamers had to bowl in those conditions. And he never gave up. He never stopped and never seemed to wilt.”

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“That’s an extraordinary testament to his determination to win and fitness. The thing that struck me was England’s bowling has had problems over the last few years in keeping people fit and on the field. So, you rarely get the same attack coming out game after game and yet, here was a man who played all five Test matches, finished bowling 30 overs in the final innings of the series and loved it,” he further added.

However, David Gower also dismissed the notion of stars being paramount to team wins, highlighting the Jasprit Bumrah conundrum in the India-England series as well.

“When you knew Jasprit would be limited to three Tests, the management had to work out which three games. But the irony here is that their best bowler was, in many ways, the least successful. He couldn’t take part in a winning Test match, whereas Siraj could. The thing that always defines good teams is people will step up to fill a gap,” said Gower.

“You have to have a ratio in a 11-member team, where if six or seven play well, then you are going to come out on the right end. Therefore, if you have people like Siraj unstinting in their efforts and trying to fill that gap, you are overcoming the loss of someone very special (Bumrah). It is all about the sum of the parts and not necessarily about the individuals,” David Gower concluded.