
Bumrah will play, confirms Siraj ahead of Manchester Test
Speaking further on the subject, he said, "But as the combination is changing day by day, we have only one plan that we should win. We try to bowl in good areas and that has made England play with a lot of patience in the last match. So we felt good."
Like other teams, India too have been resting their pacers as a part of workload management. However, Siraj has been playing Test matches continuously for the past few years. Incidentally, he has bowled the most overs among the Indian bowlers in the ongoing series. He credited almighty for his fitness and said his mindset is to win matches for the country. "My only mindset is that if I am getting the opportunity, I should use it well and win matches for my country and perform well. So this is the only mindset that I should play as many matches as possible for the country."
He said the biggest motivation for him is representing the country and helping it win the matches. "There is no secret of my energy on the field. When you play for the country, the biggest motivation is that you are representing the country. So the biggest source of energy is that when I play for the country, then I want to give my 100 per cent so that when I go to sleep, I shouldn't feel that I missed this, and I should have done this. I shouldn't have any regrets. Whatever result comes, I have only one plan that I should give my 100 per cent."
He, however, did not give any insight on the combination the team management is looking at for the contest. He also applauded England captain Ben Stokes and appreciated the way he bowled a couple of long spells in the Lord's Test, which India lost by 22 runs.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
13 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Gautam Gambhir, chief curator clash at The Oval
New Delhi: India head coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated verbal argument with the chief curator at The Oval, venue of the fifth Test against England which starts on Thursday. In videos that have surfaced on X, Gambhir in the incident that happened on Tuesday can be seen animatedly pointing a finger at Lee Fortis and with some words audible, including 'You don't tell us what to do'. India's head coach Gautam Gambhir and support staff interact with a groundsman during a training session at the Oval ground, in London. (PTI) India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak is then seen stepping in, taking Lee away and having a brief conversation with him. India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate also joins Kotak during his conversation with Lee, while Gambhir, standing away, continues to make his point as he stands on the edge of a batting net. Later in the news conference on Tuesday, Kotak said: 'When we were having a conversation near the pitch they had sent a man to send a message for us to stay 2.5m away from the pitch. We were wearing joggers, so it was awkward.' 'We know curators are overprotective and possessive about the square. What he (Gambhir) said about the head coach is his opinion and I don't want to comment. We did nothing wrong, we were wearing rubber spikes. Even the bowlers were not wearing spikes. 'The curator also needs to know that the people he is talking to are highly skilled and intelligent people. You can be protective about the square, but not arrogant. It is not an antique that you can't touch or it will be broken. He said we are trying to grow the grass but we were wearing joggers so we didn't see the problem. 'The curator yelled at support staff when they were getting an ice box. It weighs 10kg. Gambhir objected to the way he spoke with the support staff. The way he spoke irked Gambhir as it would any head coach. Everyone knows the curator at The Oval is not the easiest person to deal with. We won't be lodging any official complaint,' he added. Kotak clarified that the wicket has grass like other venues, barring Manchester which saw the only drawn Test. The series has not been short of drama. Words were exchanged between India captain Shubman Gill and England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in the final moments of Day 3 in the Lord's Test. India accused England of employing time wasting tactics to deny them the opportunity to bowl a second over, and possibly get an early breakthrough. In the fourth Test at Old Trafford, words were exchanged when late in the final session of the match after Ben Stokes offered to shake hands on a draw and Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, batting on 89 and 80 respectively, insisted on carrying on, having battled to thwart England's bid for victory. Stokes was heard saying, 'Jaddu, do you want to get a Test hundred against Brook and Duckett?' Jadeja responded, 'What do you want me to do, just walk off?' Crawley, who stood close by, chipped in: 'You can, just shake your hand.' Jadeja and Sundar both scored hundreds before the draw was eventually agreed. India's stand, to let the two batters reach the landmark, has largely been endorsed. India trail the series 1-2, but having managed to keep the series alive by drawing the Old Trafford game, can hope to push for victory to finish on level terms. The latest incident promises to add more drama to the build-up for the Oval Test.


New Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Gautam Gambhir gets into fight with Oval curator
LONDON: India head coach Gautam Gambhir had a verbal spat with pitch curator Lee Fortis of the Oval Cricket ground two days ahead of the fifth and final Test here on Tuesday. Apparently unhappy with the facilities being provided for the optional training session and instruction being given by the ground staff, visibly upset Gambhir was seen having animated discussions with the chief curator and was even heard saying, "You don't tell us what to do." It was learnt that the ground staff has even threatened to lodge a complaint against Gambhir to which the latter responded saying, "You can do whatever you like." Notably, India reached London on Monday evening following a brilliant draw against England in Manchester a day before. Shubman Gill and Co are still trailing 1-2 in the series and need to win the match if they wish to share honours with the hosts. A few of the Indian team members along with Gambhir, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and bowling Morne Morkel reached the venue in the morning for the optional nets. Bowlers were marking their respective run-ups when Gambhir allegedly had a heated exchange with Fortis. It escalated soon enough and Kotak had to intervene and separate the duo. What led to the altercations could not be known but given the discussions, it appeared Gambhir was not happy with the facilities and a few instructions given by the curator. The players, meanwhile, were seen busy with their work even as Gambhir and Fortis were having serious arguments. Kuldeep Yadav, who has not played a single match so far, was seen bowling while Akash Deep, who had to sit out of the fourth match due to injury, was also present during the session. Most of the players including Gill, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, previous match centurions Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar and KL Rahul skipped the nets. Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, fit-again Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeeshan, who replaced Rishabh Pant in the squad, Abhimanyu Easwaran were among the players who attended the session. India will have another practice session on Wednesday before the final match starting on Thursday.


Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Oval pitch curator 'yelled' at Team India; Gautam Gambhir objected to it: 'The way he spoke really irked the head coach'
The Oval turned into a battleground on Tuesday as India head coach Gautam Gambhir got into a long and heated exchange with the pitch curator Lee Fortis after being unhappy with something during a training session. A Test series that already heated up after Shubman Gill's outburst and Zak Crawley and Ben Stokes' handshake drama a couple of days ago, just got more intense when Gambhir and Fortis were at loggerheads 48 hours before the start of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated exchange with the Oval curator. (BCCI - X) Fresh details have now emerged on the fiasco, with India batting coach Satanshu Kotak claiming that Gambhir's strong reaction was in fact a retaliation to Fortis firing the first shots. The Oval pitch curator was not pleased with some members of the squad carrying drinks to the field and thus shouted at them. That, along with a warning to stay at some distance from the pitch, triggered Gambhir, who is all about standing up for his players. During the 2023 IPL bust-up with Virat Kohli, Gambhir's anger stemmed from his defence of Naveen ul Haq, and two years later, little has changed. Also Read: What led to Gautam Gambhir's ugly fight with Oval pitch curator? 'Not my job to be happy with India coach' "The curator yelled at the support staff when they were getting the ice box. Gambhir objected to it and said, 'You cannot talk to my players like that'. The way he spoke irked Gambhir. Everyone knows that the curator at The Oval is not the easiest person to deal with," Kotal said during India's first press conference ahead of the fifth Test. Also Read: Oval pitch curator threatens to file complaint against Gambhir; he fires back; 'Go report to whoever you want' "When we went to see the wicket, when the coaches stood near it, he [Fortis] sent someone who told us to stay 2.5 meters away from the pitch. Which was a little surprising. Because it's a Test wicket. A five-day Test match will begin from the day after tomorrow. We were all wearing joggers, not real spikes. It was very odd. Looking at the wicket with a rubber spike is not wrong. We see that the ground is not damaged. It's a pitch, not an antique." 'It's a pitch, not some piece of antique' During the heated chapter, Fortis also threatened India that he would file a complaint against Gambhir, but the head coach couldn't care less. However, India decided to be the bigger team and informed that they wouldn't be taking any action against Fortis or any ground staff at the Oval. Also Read: Oval pitch curator 'yelled' at Team India; Gautam Gambhir objected to it; 'The way he spoke really irked the head coach' Still, Kotak condemned Fortis' behaviour, almost reminding him that the Indian team is not a bunch of amateurs who aren't aware of protocols. They are all professionals and, of course, aware that stepping on or getting close to the pitch with actual spikes is dangerous territory. "We have all been on the ground enough and played a lot of cricket. And we all know that curators are a little overprotective or possessive about the square and ground and all. But I think that just looking at the wicket wearing rubber spikes, there is nothing wrong. The curator also needs to understand that the people they are talking to are highly skilled and intelligent," India's batting coach said. "If you go on the ground now, where we practiced, you won't see a single bowler marking his run-up with spikes. And that comes from the head coach. So when you are working with such people, if you sound a bit arrogant and come across like it. At the end of the day, it's a cricket pitch and not some antique that you can't touch. We will not be lodging any complaints."