"It's like when Tendulkar and Dravid were playing" - Former India coach compares Bumrah and Siraj to batting legends amid ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

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Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar compared the bowling pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. While praising Siraj, Bangar said that while Bumrah steals the limelight, just like Tendulkar did, his partner goes about his job without much fuss, like Dravid did.

Siraj played a pivotal role in India's fightback on Day 2 of The Oval Test against England on Friday, August 1. After the visitors were bowled out for 224 in their first innings, the right-arm pacer combined with Prasidh Krishna, who also claimed four scalps, to restrict the hosts to 247.

In the wake of his impressive effort on Friday, critics and fans once again pointed out that Siraj seems to excel in the lead role in Bumrah's absence. Disagreeing with the view that seems to be gaining plenty of traction, Bangar told ESPNcricinfo:

"You don't want to go into that territory because both these bowlers are match-winners. Whenever the two bowlers play together, because the focus is so much on what Jasprit Bumrah is doing, at times the performances of Mohammed Siraj do get sidelined a little bit."

Comparing the current Bumrah-Siraj scenario to the one that was witnessed when batting legends Tendulkar and Dravid played together, Bangar elaborated:

"It's like when Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were playing, Sachin used to get all the limelight and Rahul Dravid used to quietly do his job as well. I would say it is a similar sort of situation when Siraj and Bumrah are playing together."

The former India all-rounder went on to describe Siraj as a player with a massive heart, who always gives his 100 percent for the team with the ball. Bangar said:

"He puts in a lion-hearted effort all the time. The kind of effort that he puts in shows the kind of preparation that also goes through in his fitness routines as well. To last that long... Even the Australia series, he played all the Test matches. In fact, his workload was slightly bigger than Bumrah."

Siraj has featured in all five Tests of the series in England. He has so far bowled 155.2 overs and is the leading wicket-taker in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The right-arm pacer has claimed 18 scalps at an average of 35.66.

While workload management has been a big debate in Indian cricket, particularly centered on Bumrah, the team has been lucky with Siraj. The latter has hardly had an injury issues and has managed to retain his zip despite playing a number of back-to-back Test matches. Sharing his thoughts on the secret of Siraj's amazing fitness, Bangar asserted (via ESPNcricinfo):

"The workload factor may not come in for Siraj. Fortunately, Siraj's hasn't had the kind of injuries Bumrah has had to endure. Because his action is more conventional, he does depend a lot on the momentum that he generates in his run-up and it doesn't take that much of a toll on his body. Unlike Bumrah, the mechanics are totally different."

While Siraj registered figures of 4-86 from 16.2 overs on Day 2 at The Oval, Prasidh impressed with 4-62 from 16 overs. Having bowled out England for 247, India were 75-2 in their second innings at stumps.