R Ashwin Praises Mohammed Siraj’s Efforts Despite Flat Pitch Woes During 2nd WI Test

India completed a 2-0 series win over West Indies, with Ravindra Jadeja named player of the series, while Ashwin praised Mohammed Siraj’s effort on a slow pitch.

India completed a comfortable 2-0 clean sweep of West Indies in the recent two-match Test series at home, with Ravindra Jadeja winning the player-of-the-series award. Despite India’s seven-wicket win in the second Test at Delhi, head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed dissatisfaction with the pitch, saying it did not assist fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised Siraj for maintaining intensity throughout the contest, despite little help from the surface. The 31-year-old bowled 24 overs and took three wickets, even as spinners dominated the match.

“I would like to compliment Mohammed Siraj. On this (Kotla) wicket, there wasn’t much help, it kept getting slower but Siraj bent his back and kept coming again and again. Bumrah did get wickets in the end, but it’s Siraj’s effort that needs to be applauded. The way he was bowling in England and even in these conditions, that didn’t change. He put efforts in these conditions as well,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“Sometimes first-class cricket can be tough for fast bowlers. You bowl on day four and fast bowlers never recover after a three-day break. With that in mind, Siraj was able to bend his back and give efforts on such a wicket, knowing he’s not getting any help, still kept going, used innovative fields, so I just wanted to give credit to him on that,” Ashwin added.

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Siraj finished the series as the second-highest wicket-taker behind left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav. He is set to return for India’s ODI series against Australia later this week, which will be followed by five T20Is.

Gambhir Unhappy With The Pitch

During a media interaction on Tuesday, Gambhir called for more sporting pitches and expressed concern over edges not carrying to the wicketkeeper.

“I thought that we could have had a better wicket here. I think for me, I’m not thinking about… Yes, we did get the result on Day 5, but again, I think the nicks need to carry. I think there has to be something for the fast bowlers as well. I know we keep talking about spinners playing an important role, but when you’ve got probably two quality fast bowlers in your ranks, you still want them to be in the game as well,” he said.

Last Updated on February 19, 2026