The Rise of Mohammed Siraj From Tolichowki To Gabba

Mohammed Siraj's story is what dreams are made of, as it is an inspiring rags to riches tale. From being an auto driver's son to taking 5 wickets in a series decider match in Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Siraj has seen it all.

Introduction

Siraj was born on 13 March 1994 in Hyderabad. His father was an auto driver, and his mother is a housewife. His childhood was full of difficulties due to his family's low income. He never went to a cricket academy or had a coach. He used to play street cricket with a tennis ball and often bunked classes to play.

Siraj said that in his early days, he doesn't even know what inswing and outswing deliveries are. He doesn't have any idea about how to play professional cricket. But his determination to give a hundred percent effort in whatever games he played taken him to a great level.

His dad supported him a lot to play cricket. In 2015, Siraj went to the nets at the Charminar Cricket Club on a friend's invitation and wowed everyone. He took five wickets in a match, and soon his hard work paid dividends as he was named as a probable in the state's U-23 side. He then played for the senior zonal side and continued working hard.

After doing well on the U-23 side, he made it to the Ranji trophy. There are only three matches left after his selection. He made his debut against services but only managed to get one wicket there, which depressed him a lot. After that match, he dropped for the remaining two games.

In the 2016 Ranji Trophy, he performed well as Hyderabad made the quarter-finals. He was the third leading wicket-taker of the season and the highest wicket-taker for Hyderabad. He played 9 matches and took 41 wickets.

Siraj's Guardian Angel

Mohammad Siraj claimed that the greatest thing that happened in his life is Bharat Arun(current Bowling coach of the Indian National Cricket team).

When Bharat Arun saw him, Siraj was with RCB as a net bowler. At that time, he went and told VVS Laxman that this kid is bowling really well.

I asked him, Siraj still has not played for Hyderabad right? You can use him, right? He nodded, but he did not play much that year," — Bharat Arun.

Later in 2016, Bharat Arun went as a Hyderabad Coach. At that time, he called Siraj again. Siraj had the same passion, intent and he bowled precisely the way Arun had seen earlier. Then, he picked Siraj for Ranji Trophy that season.

Siraj feels that when Bharat Arun sir came into his life. His life changed a lot. Siraj thinks that he is a guardian angel for him.

Siraj was then picked to play for the Rest of the India team, and great performances resulted in him being included in India A squad to tour South Africa in July 2017. He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2017–18 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He played seven matches and took 23 wickets.

IPL Career

The fantastic performances in Ranji Trophy also resulted in him being roped by Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 2.6 crore, which was 13 times his base price. In 2017 IPL, he played six matches and picked 10 wickets at an average of 21.2, with the best performance of 4/32. A deceptive slower ball and a natural in-swinger make him an effective limited-overs bowler.

After SRH released him, the Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him at the IPL 2018 Player Auction for INR 2.20 cr. He played 11 matches that season and took 11 wickets. The 2019 season was a quite not good for him, and he made a comeback in the 2020 season. He played 9 matches and took 11 wickets which helped him to select in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy test squad.

ODI's and T20's Career

In December 2018, he was named in India's ODI squad for their series against Australia. He made his ODI debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 15 January 2019. He couldn't pick any wicket in the match, but India won the game by six wickets, courtesy of a stellar Virat Kohli century.

Siraj was also included in India's T20I squad to play against New Zealand. He made his T20I debut against New Zealand in November 2017 and took his maiden T20I wicket of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson. He ended up with figures of 4-0-1-53. Since then, he has played only two more T20Is and taken two more wickets.

Test Career

Siraj loves playing test matches for the Indian National Cricket Team. He has an excellent record in test matches. He played five matches and took 16 wickets at an average of 28.2, with the best performance of 5/73 at Gabba.

Let's hope Siraj continues to play well for India and achieve many things in his life

Resources

1. Bold Diaries: The Mohammed Siraj you didn’t know.

2. Mohammad Siraj - Sportskeeda

3. Mohammad Siraj - Wikipedia

4. Bharat Arun - Wikipedia

Exclusive Interview of Mohammad Siraj