'He makes the ball talk' - Wasim Jaffer lauds Mohammed Siraj's heroics in 3rd ODI between India and Sri Lanka

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer was all praises for pacer Mohammed Siraj after his brilliant performance in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka.

Siraj finished with figures of 4/32 in his 10 overs to help India bundle out Sri Lanka for a paltry 73 runs while chasing a daunting 391-run target, as the Men in Blue recorded the largest win ever by margin of runs in the history of ODI cricket.

Speaking of his ferocious spell, the speedster constantly hit the right areas, which left the Lankan batters clueless. In totality, Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis, and Wanindu Hasaranga fell prey to his magnificent bowling. Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Jaffer shared his views on Siraj.

You don't miss Bumrah when he bowls like that: Wasim Jaffer's strong statement on Siraj

Wasim Jaffer was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo, that he was immensely impressed with firstly seeing the amount of improvement the 28-year-old had made in his international performance over the years and also perhaps he is a strong replacement in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.

“You can feel the progress he has made as a white-ball bowler. His red-ball bowling is top notch, but the way he has improved in white-ball cricket in the last year or so is amazing. In a way, you don’t miss Bumrah when Siraj is bowling like that. When Bumrah is not being missed, you can understand how much value Siraj brings in.”

Jaffer also went on to highlight that the amount of aggressiveness that Siraj manages to get in his pace bowling is only adding on to his success in the white-ball format.

“Siraj has been magnificent. He’s very aggressive, always at the batsmen. When things are not happening, he is trying to make some inroads. Phenomenal, getting the batters out with the new ball is not easy. The way he makes the ball talk, swinging it both ways, pretty skillful stuff from Siraj.”

In addition to 46 wickets in 15 Tests, Siraj has picked up 33 wickets in 19 ODIs and 11 scalps in eight T20Is.

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