Mohammed Siraj has done a lot of fast-bowling heavy-lifting in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. He bowled 1113 deliveries across five Tests in England last year, with intensity sky high till the very last ball, as he showed in the famous Test win at the Oval. That staggering number totals to 185.3 overs: only Chris Woakes came close to that tally with 181, returning 12 fewer wickets than Siraj's series-best of 23.

In times of workload management, where fast bowlers need rest to rejuvenate, Siraj has emerged as a unicorn. In fact, he's found himself a spot at the other end of this spectrum, where a hiatus affects his bowling rhythm negatively. One such break recently threw him off-course. Following the lone Test against Afghanistan that concluded on June 8, Siraj had a two-month break before running in against SLC XI in a warm-up fixture in Colombo on August 7. By his own admission, it messed with his bowling.

Among his five frontline bowlers, Shubman Gill used Mohammed Siraj the least in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle - bowling nine overs in each innings. He bowled a little more in Colombo but finished the series with just 44 overs under his belt - 14.3 fewer than Prasidh Krishna, India's second pacer on this tour.

"Every bowler's body is different, but mine doesn't handle long breaks well," Siraj said after the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai. "A short breather is fine, but in my 10-year career, I had never taken two full months off. I was working out in the gym and bowling occasionally, but no amount of practice can replicate match intensity. It was a new experience, but a valuable learning curve for me going forward.

"I'm purely a rhythm bowler. If I'm not in sync, I simply can't explode through the crease. That was the struggle in Sri Lanka - my run-up felt disjointed. Some strides were too short, others were too long, and that broke my flow and cost me pace. Out here, everything clicked into place, and the pace followed naturally," he added.

Siraj's pace was indeed down through the two Tests, falling in the late 120ks and early 130ks. For perspective, his ball to Gus Atkinson on the final day of a five-match series where all the Tests went to the fifth day was a 143kmph yorker. Understandably then, Siraj returned from Sri Lanka and headed to Chennai to turn out for South Zone under Tilak Varma in the Duleep Trophy final.

"Coming off a two-month break straight into a match, my rhythm wasn't quite there. Heading into this game [Duleep Trophy final], finding that flow was my primary goal. Playing this match helped tremendously. After two months off, your body doesn't react the same way - everything feels a beat slower. Getting through this game got my body moving again and brought my rhythm right back."

In the unforgiving heat in Chennai, Siraj ran in and delivered 41 overs across the two East Zone innings, and came away feeling much better about his bowling in the end.

"That's just how my body works - the more overs I bowl, the better I get," Siraj explained. "If I don't bowl extended spells, my rhythm won't return. The break left my body feeling sluggish at the crease, so I told both myself and Tilak that I wanted to bowl as long as possible. I bowled spells of 10 and 11 overs, and that's exactly what locked me back into rhythm."

Siraj even started out the domestic game with wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan standing up to the stumps. But that didn't mean he operated with a shorter run-up. "No, the run-up is the exact same. My approach relies on fluid, uninterrupted acceleration rather than staccato steps. Coming back after a two-month layoff, my body was just recalibrating its stride lengths. In this match, it all felt completely natural again."

"At the end of the day, only I truly understand my own rhythm. No matter who I work with, it ultimately comes down to me running in smoothly. Once I do that, the rhythm takes care of itself," he added.