Mohammed Siraj, India’s pacer, has risen to new heights in his career. He is currently ranked number one in the world in the ODI format. Siraj has 729 points and is in first place, two points ahead of second-placed Josh Hazlewood. No other Indian bowler is ranked within the top 10. Siraj has come from a very humble background, and now, based on his abilities, he is ruling the world. Here is a look at the best moments in his career:
Mohammed Siraj: From the Streets of Hyderabad to Being Ranked Number 1:
Siraj was picked by SRH back in 2015, in the TATA IPL Auction. Bharat Arun, a former Indian bowling coach had scouted Siraj from one of the training camps in Hyderabad. While looking for pacers for the Hyderabad State team for the upcoming Ranji season, he saw this young man with unreal pace and good a good seam position. Mohammed Siraj was a tear-away pacer. His abilities impressed Bharat Arun. RCB intended to pick Siraj in 2016 but it was SRH who bagged him. Siraj was picked for 2.6 Crore Indian Rupees.
Debut Against New Zealand in 2017:
Siraj Made his T20I debut against New Zealand in 2017. But Mohammed Siraj was taken to the cleaners and was struggling big time. The New Zealand batters hit Siraj all over the park. There were a few shortcomings in his game and that was visible. Siraj was sacked. He went back and put in more hard work. Next time, he was picked for the test matches in Australia in the 2019-2020 historic Border Gavaskar Test Series.
2020, Turning Point of Mohammed Siraj’s Career:
2020, was the year that changed “Miyan Magic’s” life. He had a dreadful 2019 IPL season. Andre Russell battered all the RCB bowlers in a game and Siraj was also a part of it. In fact, the ball slipped twice from his hand and he wasn’t allowed to bowl at all. Post this, there was a nig social media outrage against Siraj. The memes and trolls started to flood in. People even said, “Apne bap ke saath jake auto chala”(Stop playing cricket and drive an auto-rickshaw with your father.)
But the year 2020 defined his life. He was performing exceptionally well in the India A tours. Hence, he was picked for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020. Mohammed Siraj got his cap along with Shubman Gill in the second game at Melbourne. Siraj, at this moment, was going through a lot of emotions, he had lost his father back home due to an illness. But due to Covid-19 and as his father’s wish, Siraj chose to stay back and win the game for the nation. He bagged 13 wickets in that Border Gavaskar Trophy and was India’s hero in the historic Gabba test.
Mohammed Siraj and Virat Kohli:
“Virat Bhai”, as he calls him, is Mohammed Siraj’s godfather in the game of cricket. Virat has been continuously backing him. Even if Siraj has had the worst days on the field, Virat has supported him. One can easily see that Siraj has imbibed Virat Kohli’s aggression in his nature as well. “Virat Bhai is my Hero!” he said in an interview.
“Arrey mai toh maidan mai chapla mai khelta tha, wha se yaha takk agaye. Ammi kehti thi, kuch paisa nahi hai ye khela mai, mai bolta tha itna paisa hoinga na ki ghar mai jaga kam pad jayega.” (I used to play in the maidans of Hyderabad in slippers. My mom used to say, there is no money in sports, and I used to reply, there will be so much money in the future, that our home won’t have enough space for it!”), Siraj shared while speaking to Danish Sait, the RCB insider.
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