Who will lead India’s pace bowling attack if Jasprit Bumrah is unavailable to play? The concern was always there whenever Team India went out to accomplish any assignment. Over the past few years, Bumrah established himself as the undisputed pacer of world cricket. But injury threats forced him to spend some time out of the field.

After the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, the team management has had to think twice before using the pacer in a string. For multiple injury reasons, BCCI has taken the policy to protect their prime bowler. Due to workload management, he missed a couple of matches in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. As head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced before, Bumrah actually played only 3 out of 5 matches against England.

In search of stable momentum, the Indian team management has tried multiple bowling combinations so far, where Mohammed Siraj remains a central character in the pace bowling attack. He took wickets in every match of the tour and is now closing in to surpass one of Bumrah’s records. According to stats, since Siraj’s debut, Jasprit Bumrah claims the most wickets in overseas Test matches. The pace spearhead is leading the tally with 102 wickets.

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Siraj is now at the second spot after taking 4 wickets in the first innings of the ongoing England vs. India match at The Oval. He is in the second spot with 98 wickets, only four wickets away from leveling Bumrah’s record. The Hyderabad-born can claim the top spot if he manages to bag a 5-wicket figure in the ongoing match. If Siraj gets 5 more scalps, then he will overtake Jasprit’s 102.

Most Wickets in Overseas Tests for India Since Siraj’s Debut:

• Jasprit Bumrah- 102
• Mohammed Siraj- 98*
• Ravichandran Ashwin- 38
• Ravindra Jadeja- 36