Explained: Why Mohammed Siraj Is The Weak Link In India's Bowling Attack

Anurag Dasgupta

Explained why Siraj is India's weak link [Source: AP Photos] Explained why Siraj is India's weak link [Source: AP Photos]

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The India Vs Australia 3rd Test match has begun and already it has been spoiled by persistent rain spells as an early lunch has been taken on the first morning. Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first on what he thought was a typical bowling surface.

A lot was expected of the Indian bowling lineup, but they disappointed on a green top as they failed to pick up early wickets and allowed the Australian openers to get their eyes in. While Jasprit Bumrah and incoming man, Akash Deep bowled well, the third seamer of the team, Mohammed Siraj lacked the cutting-edge.

He couldn't control his lines and lengths and allowed Usman Khawaja to score some freebies. He certainly is the weak link of the Indian pace attack and here's why.

Siraj lacks control over his lines and lengths

On his day, Siraj is an exceptional Test bowler, but when he is not on song, the opposition batters can easily target him. This is exactly what happened in the Pink-Ball Test in Adelaide, where Travis Head sensed an opportunity and capitalised on it.

Similarly, in the ongoing Gabba Test, he lacked the control overs his lines and lengths and allowed Khawaja to churn out a couple of boundaries as the pressure eased on the Aussie batter. While Bumrah and Akash Deep did the hard work to try and stop the run-flow, Siraj allowed the openers to get away from the jail-break.

Siraj gets carried away easily which harms Team India

In the Adelaide Test match, Mohammed Siraj picked up 4 wickets, but it came at a heavy price. He went at 4 runs an over as Travis Head made a mockery of him and scored quick runs to push India on the back-foot.

This rattled Siraj as he got into a tussle with Head and couldn't overcome the fact that Head had been the better of the two on that day. Siraj plays a lot on emotions, but on that fateful day, he allowed his emotions to get better off him. 

Perhaps Siraj could learn something from his idol, Virat Kohli and channelise his emotions by putting in a better performance.