The key details on Mohammed Siraj’s journey from tennis ball cricket to his Boxing Day debut
“Stay strong for your father’s dream.” Those were the words of Captain Virat Kohli when Mohammed Siraj decided to continue his stay in Australia after his father died in Hyderabad.
The BCCI offered Siraj the option to fly home, but given the quarantine rules in place, he would have had to spend 14 days in isolation if he had traveled home and then flew back to join the team in Australia. At the time, India was looking for a rhythm attack that had Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini, with Ishant Sharma also a chance to join the team, in addition to Siraj.
With Sharma not joining the team and Shami ruled out with injury, Siraj is now set to make his Boxing Day Test debut. Here’s a look at his journey so far.
The humble beginning
Siraj, the son of an auto-rickshaw pilot in Hyderabad, got hooked on the game while in class seven, after being part of the team that won an inter-school tournament. From then on, he frequently skipped classes to play tennis ball cricket. His pace and ability to take land in groups meant that he acquired a cult status in the town of Banjara Hills. It wasn’t until 2015 that Siraj started playing cricket ball, at the insistence of a friend. He took a series of five fors in his first club matches and soon found himself on the Hyderabad Under-23 team, then the senior team.
Increasing
In 2016-17, his first full season for Hyderabad, Siraj collected 41 wickets averaging 18.92 when Hyderabad made the Ranji Trophy knockouts for the first time since 2011-12. His run of nine wickets in the quarterfinals almost caused a surprise against Mumbai. Later, he was chosen in the Irani Trophy to play for the Rest of India.
Going under the IPL hammer
In 2017, Siraj was chosen by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 2.6 crore from a base price of INR 20 lakh. While he collected ten wickets in six games with a best of 4 of 32, his runs filtered to 9.21 per over. He moved to the Royal Challengers Bangalore the next season, but was not as successful – 11 wickets in 11 games at an economy of 8.95. Those numbers only got worse in the 2019 season, as he managed just seven wickets in nine starts with an economy of 9.55.
The success of the red ball
Despite the hammering in the IPL, Siraj continued to play domestic cricket. At the 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he managed three five fors in seven matches to finish as the leader in land grabbers.
Still, his best performances came in red ball cricket, where he reaped rewards with his sewing move and a surprise gorilla. In 2018, he scored 55 wickets from ten top-class games, averaging 19.80 and a strike rate of 37.9. That included two five-wickets in a game against South Africa A and an 8-of-59 to dismantle an Australian A team that featured Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.
Recent form
At IPL 2020, Siraj became the first bowler to deliver two maidens in an IPL match on his way to 3-for-8 against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi. But there was nothing of that sort during the two practice games in Australia, even though he picked up five wickets.
.
