India, Aug. 24 -- He may not have won official player of the series honours, but it wouldn't be unfair to argue that Mohammed Siraj was the heart and soul of India's tour of England this summer. While there has been plenty of credit given to his skill and his passion combining to create a top-level bowler, one other element might have gone under the radar: his fitness and his endurance to play all five Test matches, and keep bowling to the top of his level on the very last day of a 25-day series.

When it came to deciding that Siraj would play all five Test matches - a rarity for any seam bowler - it wasn't a call made in haste or on the spot. Instead, it was a plan that was in place as early as February, when Siraj wasn't included in the...