Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin heaped praise on Mohammed Siraj for his transformation and crucial role in India's thrilling win over England in the fifth Test at The Oval.

Siraj put his body on the line and played all five games in the hard-fought series, finishing as the leading wicket-taker. His grit was evident in the 1113 deliveries he bowled, picking up 23 wickets at an average of 32.43.

When India needed crucial wickets, Siraj stepped up, often stretching his spells to ensure smoother rotation. With Jasprit Bumrah playing only three Tests to manage his workload, the 31-year-old took on the mantle of spearheading India’s pace attack.

On the final day of the Oval Test, the hosts were 35 runs away from chasing a 374-run target, with four wickets in hand. However, Siraj once again lifted his game under pressure, returning with five wickets to propel the visitors to a narrow six-run victory, thereby ending the series in a 2-2 draw.

“What an absolute riveting Test. Full props to India, against all odds, India have come back and levelled the series. I want to say that this game has been topsy-turvy, series has also been topsy-turvy. All things aside, for today, let us celebrate Mohammed Siraj," Ashwin said while speaking on his YouTube channel.

“With 22 (23) wickets, he’s the leader of the bowling charts. What made me so happy with what happened with Siraj is that when we won the T20 World Cup, he wore a bib and praised Jasprit Bumrah," he stated.

“But today it wasn’t Jassi bhai, but Miyan bhai, who was the real instrument for India to level the series," he added.

Ashwin also highlighted the importance of Siraj to the Indian bowling attack, citing that the right-arm quick was getting older and needed to be given breaks in between to lead a transitioning attack in the coming years.

“He’s reminding us of what a champion bowler he is, his bowling action and his running technique in his run-up and his nice finish towards the end, his good work ethic is allowing him to play all the Tests of a series, even if it is five Tests. It is time we recognised that," Ashwin said.

“He’s getting on in age and it is very important as an Indian team management that we rest him as well from inconsequential matches that we play after this, because he could be your number one Test bowler, go-to Test bowler around which you build the rest of your bowling attack," he remarked.