Mohammed Siraj reveals reason behind his finger on lips celebration

Picture Credit: Twitter/@ICC

Mohammed Siraj is undoubtedly of the best finds for the Indian selection committee in the recent past. The right-arm pacer is improving with each passing day since his Test debut at Melbourne against Australia last year. 23 wickets with an experience of just 7 Test matches speak volumes of the quality and potential of the bowler. It would not be wrong to say that Siraj has performed equally good as the other star Indian pacers on the foreign soil in the past six to seven months.

What makes Siraj special is his quality to provide India the breakthrough at crucial junctures in the game. At times when even the best of India's pacers struggles to get a wicket, it is Siraj's bowling that does the trick. His recent consecutive wickets in the ongoing second Test against England could be a telling example of how useful Siraj is for India. When the joy all seemed to have stopped for India with guests England marching towards their target with 23/0, it took Siraj just two balls to send shivers down the spine of the English camp by dismissing Dominic Sibley and Haseeb Hameed.

However, what caught everyone's attention was the way with which Siraj celebrated post the wickets. He put a finger on his lips as he could be signalling someone to stay silent.

Check out the celebration style here:

Later in the innings, the pacer dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Robinson to end with figures of 4/94 on Day 3, the best among the Indian pacers in the innings. He then revealed  the reason behind his celebration style.

"This story (celebration) is for the haters (critics) because they used to say a lot of things about me, like he cannot do this and cannot do that. So, I will only let my ball do the talking and hence this is my new style of celebration,” said Siraj at the virtual press conference after the game on Day 3.

Joe Root helps England gain a slender lead

Once seemed to fall far behind India's total of 364, England got a massive boost from skipper Joe Root's unbeaten 180. Meanwhile, Bairstow's 57 and Rory Burns 49 helped the guests clinch a 27-run lead against India in the game by the end of play on Day 3.