While Gautam Gambhir named England’s Harry Brook Player of the Series, for his counterpart Brendon McCullum, the honour had to go to India skipper Shubman Gill. However, how the final day of the 5th Test at the Oval concluded prompted McCullum to change his mind on the ‘Player of the Series’ Honour. Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik, who was a part of the Sky Cricket commentary panel for the series, revealed that although McCullum had taken Gill’s name after the conclusion of Day 4 of the Oval Test, he wanted to change his nomination to Mohammed Siraj after the India pacer turned the game around in his team’s favour.
“If the match had gotten over yesterday (Day 4), Shubman Gill was the man of the series,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz. “Brendon McCullum had said Shubman Gill. And obviously, Atherton [Mike Atherton] was the one doing the presentation. So, he had all the questions ready. Everything was for Shubman Gill.”
Siraj picked up three of the four England wickets on Day 5 of the 5th Test to help India win the match by 6 runs, the narrowest victory in the team’s history. McCullum admitted being in awe of what Siraj managed to do with a nearly 80-over-old ball.
“Baz McCullum turned it around in a matter of half an hour, 40 minutes – to Mohammed Siraj,” Karthik revealed. “He even spoke about him in the post-match with Sky Sports – about how he enjoyed watching Siraj bowl and all the eloquent things he had to say about him.”
“He’s got that spirit you want to see in a fast bowler,” McCullum had said on Siraj after the game. “Every time he had the ball in hand, there was energy. You could see how much it meant to him. It was one of those spells that can change a series, and today, it really did.”
Captain Shubman Gill with the England coach Brendon McCullum after the match yesterday. pic.twitter.com/rdSbp6jRwH
— Ahmed Says (@AhmedGT_) August 5, 2025
Siraj has often been seen as an understudy to Jasprit Bumrah, who enjoys the status of a superstar and world-beater in the global cricketing spectrum. But against England, whenever Bumrah wasn’t around, it was Siraj who took the responsibility upon himself and delivered what was required.
“This is a five-Test match series where the bat has dominated the ball,” Karthik said. “It’s been hard work. And this boy has come in running every day of the series, when given the ball, with his heart out… When Bumrah didn’t play, Siraj stepped up and showed what it takes to win.”
“At the start of the series, I actually said, in Australia, he bowled better with the old ball than with the new ball. But Mohamed Siraj has come out here to England. And when he has been the head of the pack, which means everybody was speaking about how Jasprit Bumrah is important. When Jasprit Bumrah plays, India should win. Otherwise, they are going to find it hard. And eventually, they ended up winning 2 test matches. Both of which he didn’t play. And it’s obviously no reflection on Bumrah. Because he is such a genius that you rely so much on a Jasprit Bumrah for them to do the goods. But the fact is that when he wasn’t around, Mohamed Siraj stepped up. Showed what it takes to win. You know, I think he can now rise beyond,” Karthik added.
