India pacer Mohammed Siraj drew lavish praise from former England cricketer Stuart Broad for his lion-hearted effort throughout the five Tests of the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

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.

"Couldn't be more impressed with him," Broad told Jos Buttler on their podcast For the Love Of Cricket.

"If I'm honest, I think you have to be careful with cricketers like Mohammed Siraj, where all you talk about is heart, fire, spirit, and drive. He's incredibly skilful. You watch him set up batters — he tries a couple of away swingers, not necessarily looking to get them out. Then he bowls the wobble seam that comes back in to bring the stumps into play.

"He's got brilliant players out throughout the series — Root, Pope, Stokes (a first-ball duck at Edgbaston). One of his greatest strengths is the amount of effort he puts in and how he always turns up. He grabs the ball, wants to be in the action — a bit of a showman," Broad added.

Broad also opened up on the nickname England cricketers have given Siraj. "I was on the pitch on Day 2, when Ben Duckett was just going through his batting drills and Siraj was doing a few mental bowling routines. Duckett said, ‘Morning, Mr Angry. How are you doing, Mr Angry?’

"And Siraj had a big smile on his face. So the England players were calling him ‘Mr Angry’ because he's just so in the battle the whole time.

"But don't mistake his passion and heart for a lack of ability, because he sets up batters beautifully. He bowls a length that nips back, brings the stumps into play, and you can't get forward to it. I thought he took the final wicket — Gus Atkinson — with a brilliant off-stump yorker."

Broad also expressed relief that Siraj wouldn't be remembered for Harry Brook’s dropped catch earlier in the Oval Test.

"I was really worried that he would remember this Test match for that dropped catch because he deserved so much more in this series.

"He was the leading wicket-taker, played all five Tests in a series that was brutal for bowlers. He had a mishap — he was actually off the field for about five overs, changing his shirt, refreshing himself — and then came back on.

"Harry Brook top-edged it straight to him at fine leg. He just didn’t quite know where he was, didn’t have his bearings, and caught it while strolling the rope. The guy in the blue shirt behind him went berserk.

"I didn't want that to be his last memory of this Test series. But he came in the next morning, swung it around, bowled beautifully once again, and fittingly took the last wicket to draw the series for India. He really, really deserved it."

Broad also commented on Siraj’s now-viral celebration and motivation. "The atmosphere was brilliant. He did a Cristiano Ronaldo-style celebration. He has Ronaldo as his mobile wallpaper with the word ‘Believe’.

"That’s his motivation — what drives him forward. I’m thrilled that he was able to do what he did, because he deserves it. And you know what? He deserves to fly to a beach, slip on some flip-flops, grab a pina colada, and lie there for a few weeks."