Mohammed Siraj: The Workhorse Who Carried India’s Fast Bowling Burden

Mohammed Siraj is a 32-year-old right-arm fast bowler from Hyderabad who plays Test cricket for India. While many people have recently been asking why Siraj is being rested from T20Is, the real story is quite different. Over the last three years, Siraj has quietly become the hardest-working fast bowler in world cricket, and India may have finally realised they need to protect him.

Born on March 13, 1994, Mohammed Siraj grew up in a small rented home in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. His father, Mohammed Ghaus, drove an auto-rickshaw to support the family, and there were days when buying a cricket bat was a luxury they could not afford. Siraj learned to bowl by playing tennis-ball matches on the streets, no academy, no professional coaching, just raw talent and a burning desire to improve.

He first wore proper cricket shoes with spikes when he got an offer to play in a local tournament. When he earned his first salary from the IPL, his father stopped driving the auto-rickshaw for the first time in 30 years. The joy, however, was short-lived. In 2020, while Siraj was on tour in Australia, his father passed away. He could not go home due to quarantine rules, but he chose to stay and fulfil his father’s dream. He later took his first five-wicket haul on that same tour, with tears in his eyes.

The Rise Through Ranji and IPL

Siraj’s early cricketing journey shows just how much he had to fight to get noticed.

Season	Tournament	Achievement
2016–17	Ranji Trophy	43 wickets in 9 matches for Hyderabad
2017	IPL	Bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹2.6 million
2020–21	Border-Gavaskar Trophy	13 wickets in 3 Tests, most by any Indian in the series
2023	Asia Cup	6/21 in the final vs Sri Lanka, his best ODI figures
2023	ODI World Cup	14 wickets during India’s campaign
2024	T20 World Cup	Part of India’s title-winning team
2025	IPL (Gujarat Titans)	16 wickets in 15 matches, best figures 4/17

After many years of grinding in domestic cricket and the IPL, Siraj reached the No. 1 ODI bowler ranking in January 2023. That was the peak of his white-ball career, and also, in a way, the moment where his story took a new turn.

India’s Workload Management Plan, And Siraj’s Role In It

When Jasprit Bumrah became India’s best fast bowler, team management started protecting him carefully. They skipped him from certain series, gave him rest windows, and watched his overs closely. The goal was simple: keep Bumrah fit for the long run.

But someone still had to bowl. That someone was Siraj.

Since January 2023, Siraj has bowled 1,231 overs across all formats, the most by any fast bowler in the world during that period .. Only Ravindra Jadeja, a spinner, has bowled more overs in that time. Here is how that workload breaks down by format:

Format	Matches	Overs Bowled	Share of Total Workload
Tests	30	744	~60%
ODIs	—	—	~30%
T20Is	9	30	~2.5%
IPL	—	—	—

The numbers make one thing very clear. Siraj’s workload is dominated by Test cricket, the most physically demanding format of the game .. Nearly 25 overs every single Test match. Over 30 Tests in three years. That is a huge amount of work for any fast bowler.

The Test Workhorse

In Tests, Siraj has been almost impossible to drop. India played 33 Tests since 2023, Siraj played 30 of them. That is a 91% appearance rate. Bumrah, whose workload is managed carefully, played in about two-thirds of those Tests.

Here are Siraj’s overall Test career numbers as of June 2026:

Stat	Number
Test Matches	46
Innings Bowled	86
Total Balls	7,085
Runs Conceded	4,164
Wickets	140
Bowling Average	29.74
Economy Rate	3.53
Strike Rate	50.61
Five-Wicket Hauls	8
Best Bowling in Match	8/126

An economy of 3.53 in Tests is very good for a fast bowler. It means Siraj is not just getting wickets, he is also keeping the runs down. And he does this across long spells, over and over again.

The 2025 England Test Series: Siraj Steps Up Alone

One of the best examples of Siraj’s importance came during India’s tour of England in 2025. He became the only Indian seamer to play all five Tests .. He bowled 185 overs across the series and finished as India’s leading wicket-taker, claiming 23 wickets. India drew the series, and Siraj’s effort was central to that result.

After that series, he was nicknamed “Lion Heart”, a name that stuck because of how much he gave on the field, day after day.

Series	Wickets	Overs	Role
England Tests 2025	23	185	Only seamer to play all 5 Tests
Border-Gavaskar 2020–21	13	—	Most wickets by any Indian in that series
Asia Cup 2023	Best figures: 6/21	—	Match-winning spell in the final
ODI World Cup 2023	14	—	Key bowler throughout the campaign

His White-Ball Numbers: Still Solid, But No Longer the Priority

Even though Siraj’s white-ball role has reduced, his career numbers in ODIs and T20Is are still strong.

ODI Career Stats (as of June 2026):

Stat	Number
Matches	50
Innings Bowled	49
Wickets	76
Bowling Average	25.33
Economy Rate	5.13
Strike Rate	29.62
Best Figures	6/21

T20I Career Stats (as of June 2026):

Stat	Number
Matches	17
Wickets	17
Economy Rate	7.76
Best Figures	4/17

Since the 2023 World Cup, Siraj has played only nine of India’s 23 ODIs .. He was also left out of the Champions Trophy squad. In T20Is, he has been included mostly when Bumrah is rested. His only T20 World Cup game in 2026 came against the USA, when Bumrah was given a break.

So while his numbers in these formats are decent, India’s selectors have clearly moved him down the priority list in white-ball cricket.

IPL 2025 and 2026: Consistent But Overlooked

After leaving Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Siraj joined Gujarat Titans at the 2025 IPL mega-auction for ₹12.25 crore. He delivered across both seasons.

IPL Season	Matches	Wickets	Economy	Dot Balls
2025	15	16	9.25	151
2026	17	19	9.06	130

In IPL 2026, Siraj bowled 130 dot balls in just 44 overs, almost every second ball was a dot ball. He also won the Most Dot Balls award in IPL 2026. These numbers show that even in the shortest format, Siraj is putting in serious work.

The Workload Management Decision, Finally

So why was Siraj pulled out of the England and Ireland T20I series in 2026, with Prasidh Krishna named as a replacement under a “workload management programme”? .

It sounds strange at first. A bowler who barely plays T20Is needs rest from T20Is?

But the reason is not about T20Is at all. It is about what lies ahead, a long international season with 17 ODIs and 10 Tests .. India also needs him fresh for the build-up to the 2027 World Cup. With so much red-ball cricket coming up, this short window before the season picks up is the only real chance to give Siraj a proper rest ..

Also, Siraj recently turned 32. Fast bowlers at this age need more recovery time between high-intensity stints. India’s management has clearly understood this, and they are now treating Siraj the same way they have long treated Bumrah.

Full Career Statistics

Here is a complete picture of Mohammed Siraj’s international career as of June 2026:

Bowling

Format	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy	Strike Rate	Best
Tests	46	140	29.74	3.53	50.61	8/126 (match)
ODIs	50	76	25.33	5.13	29.62	6/21
T20Is	17	17	28.29	7.76	21.88	4/17
IPL	125	128	30.55	8.78	20.88	4/17

Batting

Format	Matches	Runs	Highest Score	Average
Tests	46	176	22	4.88
ODIs	50	57	9	7.12
T20Is	17	14	7*	7.00
IPL	125	117	14*	9.75

From Workhorse to Protected Asset

Mohammed Siraj’s story has two chapters. The first chapter is about a boy from Hyderabad who had nothing, no money, no shoes, no coaching, but who kept bowling until India had no choice but to pick him. The second chapter is about a 32-year-old who became so important to Indian Test cricket that the team cannot afford to lose him to injury or burnout.

India built their workload management system around Bumrah. But while they were doing that, they accidentally made Siraj carry all the load. Now, for the first time, they are protecting him the same way. Not because he has stopped performing. Not because his body has given up. But because, after three years of being India’s busiest fast bowler, Mohammed Siraj has earned the right to rest.