Siraj explains form dip: India pacer blames two-month break for rhythm loss

Mohammed Siraj (PTI Photo)

CHENNAI: Mohammed Siraj hasn't been at his best of late. He struggled in Sri Lanka recently and also in the Duleep Trophy final that got over here on Thursday. Siraj's first innings was particularly poor.

He went wicketless for 140 runs at an economy rate of 5.60, struggling with control and appearing to tire in Chennai's heat.

He was also seen holding his knees and suffering from cramps.Before the Sri Lanka series, Siraj's last international outing had been the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June, where he bowled 13 overs and took one wicket.

He then had a two-month break before playing the two Tests in Sri Lanka, where he managed four wickets.

Siraj believes that gap was a major reason behind his struggles. "Since I was on a two-month break before the Sri Lanka series, I didn't have proper rhythm initially. When you return after a two-month break, your body doesn't react as quickly, it's a bit slow," he said.Siraj's problem, he explained, was the rhythm of his run-up. "I am a rhythm bowler. Unless I find my rhythm, the ball doesn't release smoothly. My strides were sometimes too short, sometimes too long, so I couldn't build rhythm." Siraj bowled 16 overs for 47 runs, including a first spell of 7-2-17-1 in the second innings of the Duleep Trophy final.