The 31-year-old right-arm pacer is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 13 wickets. In the three Tests so far, Siraj has bowled 109 overs. He is third on the list of pacers with most overs in the series. England’s Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse, who have bowled 121 and 117 overs respectively, are the top two. India pace spearhead Bumrah, who was rested for the Edgbaston match, has bowled 86.4 overs.

The former Dutch all-rounder admitted the management has to make sure Siraj is fit as he is always raring to go. “He’s not someone who’s going to shy away from workload, so it makes it even more important for us to manage his workload and make sure that he’s at least fit to give his best. And again, we’ll take a call on the combination we play, particularly given the Arshdeep (Singh) situation as well, we’ll make that call closer to Manchester.”

Prediction of rain

Given the overcast condition here in Manchester and prediction of rain and cloudy weather almost throughout the entirety of the match, India will be tempted to go with Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.

However, what can help the visitors is the eight-day gap between the Lord’s game and the fourth Test. Even on Thursday, pacers including Siraj and Bumrah, who featured in the Lord’s Test, didn’t bowl in the practice session, the first since July 14, at Beckenham, a London suburb.