"He wants the ball in big situations" - Brad Haddin lauds Indian pacer's hunger for pressure moments after ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test

Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin reserved high praise for Mohammed Siraj after the Indian pacer guided his team to a famous six-run win over England at The Oval, London. With their victory in the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, India drew the five-match series 2-2.

Haddin opined that Siraj relishes being the spearhead of India's pace attack. He lauded the 31-year-old's eagerness to bowl in high-pressure situations.

Siraj bowled an inspired spell on Day 5 of the fifth Test. England needed 35 runs for victory with four wickets in hand. The right-arm fast bowler bagged three wickets in the morning session, completing a stunning five-wicket haul.

Commenting on the Indian bowler's splendid performance, here's what Haddin said on the YouTube channel, 'LiSTNR Sport', (at 16:09):

"I think Siraj likes being the leader of the attack. He is one of those guys that he wants the ball in big situations. Yes, he makes mistakes, but he doesn't shy away from wanting the occasion. If you have players like that who aren't afraid to make mistakes, who can get under the skin of opposition because of the way that they want to be in the game, they are the guys you want."

Pointing out how Siraj was keen to win the match for his side on Day 5, Haddin added:

"He wanted the ball in that last hour of play. There's no way in the world he didn't want to bowl every over to win the game. He dropped the catch. That's a bad miss, your details got to be better there when you are catching that. But that also didn't define him by the Test match. We are not going to talk about that catch now."

It is worth mentioning that Siraj was the only Indian pacer to play in all five Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He finished as the highest wicket-taker of the series, bagging 23 scalps across nine innings.

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"A really good sign" - Brad Haddin on Shubman Gill thriving on responsibility in ENG vs IND 2025 series

Shubman Gill shone with the bat in his first series as Team India's new Test captain. Brad Haddin noted that the player has shown that he doesn't let the added pressure of leadership affect his batting.

The cricketer-turned-coach remarked in the same video (at 7:10):

"We have seen a bit of that in the IPL, that the captaincy doesn't affect his batting, which is a really good sign. Captaincy, he's going to grow into it. He made some tactical moves that were good, others where he was a little bit behind the game, but there's a lot of life in this Indian cricket team."

Haddin also highlighted that Gill took a stand for his players on the tour by having a go at the opposition when needed.

"He didn't take a backward step either. He stuck up for his players. You see in that Test match, when he got after Crawley when he was late to come out, and he pointed his finger, but he was very pointed in some of his responses in pressers after the game," he added (at 17:52).

Gill was adjudged the Player of the Series for his stunning batting exploits. He amassed 754 runs from 10 innings at an average of 75.40. He became the first player to hit four tons in his debut Test series as captain.