Shubman Gill was declared Player-of-the-Series after India won the fifth Test against England at The Oval by a narrow margin of six runs, thereby ending the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in a 2-2 draw.

The Indian captain was chosen for the honour by England head coach Brendon McCullum, who apparently wanted to change his pick for Player-of-the-Series at the last minute — switching from Shubman Gill to Mohammed Siraj.

The revelation came from former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Karthik explained how the choice flipped within an hour on the final day as Siraj delivered a match-winning spell at The Oval.

“If the match had gotten over yesterday (Day 4), Shubman Gill was the man of the series,” Karthik said. “Brendon McCullum had said Shubman Gill. And obviously, Atherton [Mike Atherton] was the one doing the presentation. So, he had all the questions ready. Everything was for Shubman Gill.”

On the final day, the Three Lions were 35 runs away from chasing a 374-run target, with four wickets in hand. However, Siraj ripped through England’s lower order, ending their innings at 367.

“Baz McCullum turned it around in a matter of half an hour, 40 minutes — to Mohammed Siraj,” Karthik revealed. “He even spoke about him in the post-match with Sky Sports — about how he enjoyed watching Siraj bowl and all the eloquent things he had to say about him.”

In England, the opposition coaches choose two Player-of-the-Series awards at the end of a Test series. While McCullum voted for Shubman Gill, who scored 754 runs in five Tests, India head coach Gautam Gambhir went with Harry Brook, who nearly took the game away from India with his blistering hundred at The Oval.

In the post-match interview with Sky Sports, McCullum was effusive in praise of Siraj’s resilience.

“He’s got that spirit you want to see in a fast bowler,” McCullum said. “Every time he had the ball in hand, there was energy. You could see how much it meant to him. It was one of those spells that can change a series, and today, it really did.”

Karthik hailed Siraj for stepping up to the plate when India needed him most. “This is a five-Test match series where bat has dominated the ball,” Karthik said. “It’s been hard work. And this boy has come in running every day of the series, when given the ball, with his heart out... When Bumrah didn’t play, Siraj stepped up and showed what it takes to win.”

“At the start of the series, I actually said, in Australia, he bowled better with the old ball than with the new ball. But Mohamed Siraj has come out here to England. And when he has been the head of the pack, which means everybody was speaking about how Jasprit Bumrah is important. When Jasprit Bumrah plays, India should win. Otherwise, they are going to find it hard. And eventually, they ended up winning 2 test matches. Both of which he didn't play. And it's obviously no reflection on Bumrah. Because he is such a genius that you rely so much on a Jasprit Bumrah for them to do the goods. But the fact is that when he wasn't around, Mohamed Siraj stepped up. Showed what it takes to win. You know, I think he can now rise beyond,” Karthik remarked.