Mohammed Siraj praised Jasprit Bumrah, who was not present during this pivotal match, as he celebrated India's victory over England in the fifth Test.
India defeated England by six runs and drew the series 2-2 on Monday after Siraj claimed five wickets in the second innings at The Oval. He was widely recognized and won the Man of the Match Award for his exceptional effort, taking nine wickets during the match.
India had won the Edgbaston Test but lost in Leeds and at Lord’s while playing out of their skins to draw the Manchester Test. Jasprit Bumrah played for India in only three tests, with India losing two of them and one ending in a draw.
"Every batsman, every bowler (who played the Test), hats off to him... and the way we came back, crazy man. I miss Jassi (Bumrah) Bhai because had he been there, it would have been special. I believe in Jassi Bhai and myself," said an emotional Siraj in a video posted by BCCI.
Bumrah was released from the Indian squad after the fourth game to manage his workload, missing the final test.
Siraj showed fresh resolve on the last day after failing to catch Harry Brook's catch on Sunday. English batsmen found his bowling in the first session on Monday difficult.
"To be honest, the emotions I have right now (after the win), I cannot describe them because yesterday (Sunday) I dropped the catch. When I was going to bed (after day 4), I was only thinking about 'how could I drop it?'. Had I taken that catch, we wouldn't have had to come out and play on Monday. We would have been in the room, relaxed. But the Almighty had something else in store for us. He brought us to the stadium on Monday, and the result is in front of everyone," Siraj said.
On day four, Siraj was trying to catch Brook's shot at fine leg when he went into the boundary rope, missing the vital catch.
"When I woke up in the morning (on Monday), my inner self told me that I can do it; I can change the game. I had that belief. I woke up in the morning, checked Google on my phone, and took out a 'Believe' emoji wallpaper and told myself that I would do it for the country. I always believe that I can win the game from any point, and I did that in the morning,” he concluded.
Here is the video:
