Mohammed Siraj is putting pressure on Bumrah, Shami, and Umesh: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra has said that Mohammed Siraj is putting pressure on established bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav with his excellent performances.

Bumrah opted out of the final Test against England, while Shami is yet to regain full fitness after the fracture he sustained in Australia on his bowling arm.

Siraj, who was preferred over Yadav as the second seamer for the ongoing fourth Test, returned figures of 2/45 to help India dismiss the visitors for 205 runs in their first innings on a placid track.

While reviewing the first day's play on Star Sports, Aakash Chopra pointed out Mohammed Siraj ensured that Team India did not miss their more illustrious pacers. The former Indian opener believes the lanky Hyderabad pacer's performance will keep the experienced lot on their toes.

"Today Bumrah was not there and you did not have Shami as well and Umesh Yadav is not playing at this moment and despite that you are not missing any of them. The players we are talking about are runaway match-winners and in fact this player is putting pressure on them. We are not even discussing about Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whom we are waiting for to regain fitness," said Chopra.

Aakash Chopra reasoned that Mohammed Siraj got the better of the renowned Joe Root and the well-set Jonny Bairstow with prodigious movement and pace even though the ball was not reversing.

"He got those two wickets when the ball was not reversing. In such a situation if the ball comes in after pitching, he beat the batsmen with that movement and pace. He got Joe Root, who is an amazing player, and Bairstow who was set. To hit a set batsman on the pads like that without the reverse swing shows the future of Indian cricket is very bright," observed Chopra.

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Mohammed Siraj bowling continuously on the same line was praiseworthy: Harbhajan Singh

Mohammed Siraj trapped both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow in front of the wickets

Harbhajan Singh lauded Mohammed Siraj for bowling an immaculate line and length and deceiving Joe Root with a delivery that came in sharply after pitching.

"It was praiseworthy how he kept bowling continuously on the same line and the pace at which he bowled. It is a very difficult task to do that and it shows how much effort he would have put in to get this ability. He kept on taking the ball away and from there only he got the ball to move in and Joe Root did not have any clue that the ball can come in like that after pitching," said Singh.

Mohammed Siraj 🔥Moves it in sharply to trap Root in front, and the England captain decides not to review. England are 30/3! #INDvENG ➡️ https://t.co/6OuUwURcgX pic.twitter.com/gWJVdCiNjL

— ICC (@ICC) March 4, 2021

The former Indian spinner even termed Mohammed Siraj's in-dipper to dismiss the England captain as one of the best deliveries he has seen for a while.

"As Aakash said the ball was not yet reversing but it came in so nicely that I don't think for a long time I have seen a better ball than that delivered by a fast bowler which moved in so much," concluded Harbhajan Singh.

Mohammed Siraj is unlikely to replace the likes of Bumrah or Shami in the Indian team in the foreseeable future, considering the exploits of the latter two over the last few years.

However, the 26-year-old has certainly presented himself as a trustworthy backup option whenever any of the frontline Indian seamers are not available.

Siraj is one of the most exciting bowlers in world cricket at the moment #INDvENG

— Isa Guha (@isaguha) March 4, 2021