Mohammed Ismail calms down, clears his throat and does his best to control his emotions, before uttering the barely audible: “I wish abba (the late Mohammed Ghouse) had been alive today.” Ismail, the older brother of Mohammed Siraj, Team India’s latest rhythm sensation, says he’s a bit groggy, after waking up in the early hours of Saturday morning and glued to the TV to watch Siraj make a sensational debut of test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. “After what we’ve been through over the last month, this is a proud moment for us. I want to thank Allah. Abba always wanted Siraj to play test cricket for India. He always said, ‘Desh ka naam roshan karo,’ Ismail tells The Indian Express over the phone from his Towli Chowki residence in Hyderabad.
It was Ghouse, the unwavering support of an auto-rickshaw driver that fueled Siraj’s cricket aspirations. But on November 20, just over a month before the 26-year-old Test’s debut, Ghouse passed away. The strict quarantine restrictions meant that Siraj could not return to India to be with his family and participate in his father’s final rites. “Stay strong for your father’s dream.” Those words of encouragement from Captain Virat Kohli helped him stay in Australia with the Indian team. However, Ismail remembers a phone call he received days after Ghouse’s death. “He called me from Australia and said nothing. All I could hear was the sound of him sobbing uncontrollably, ”Ismail recalls.
It was his father’s constant encouragement that gave Siraj the confidence to take bunk classes and sneak away from his strict and disciplined mother, Shabana Begum, to play tennis ball cricket with Ismail and his friends at their mohalla near Masabtank. Despite being successful, Siraj never had aspirations to play for India, nor did he have any formal training to become a fast bowler. At age 18, a friend introduced him to Sir Mabboob, a cool middle-aged man who runs an HCA-affiliated training center called the Charminar Cricket Club. Siraj’s life took a dramatic turn since then. “I was impressed by what I saw. It was raw but had the ability to get a good rhythm. In fact, in his debut against a club called Balaji CC, he chose five wickets, ”says Mabboob.
LOOK: R Sridhar interviews the debutant Siraj with a touch of Hyderabadi
You don’t want to miss out on this fun chat between @coach_rsridhar AND #TeamIndiaTest’s Newest Rookie, MCG’s Siraj – by @Moulinparikh
📹👉https: //t.co/2vTdSgKPSi #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/08xSpKDs7Q
– BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2020
Siraj’s progression to the Hyderabad Under-23 team was quite dramatic, but Mabboob says his mentee still lacked the maturity and conscience to make the move to the international scene. “I remember that on one occasion, HCA had organized a fitness camp for the under-23 team fast bowlers at the Secunderabad Gymkhana field. They all gathered that morning, but Siraj wasn’t there. When I asked him later, he said, ‘Sir, I don’t have the money to travel back and forth from Hyderabad and Secunderabad. How much will I bother my father for money? Those words still irritated Mabboob. “I told him, don’t hesitate to ask me for any financial help.”
Siraj made his Ranji Trophy debut for Hyderabad in 2015, and the credit for being unexpectedly chosen goes to Jyothi Prasad, the then chairman of selectors. “I saw him in a U-23 game against the Railroads, and he was bowling very fast. It was still raw, but I was excited to see him bowling, because after a long time I was seeing someone in Hyderabad playing at 140 km / h, “recalls Prasad.
According to Prasad, Siraj benefited greatly in his first season as a first-class cricketer, because the Hyderabad coach was Bharat Arun, who is the current bowling coach of the Indian team. “Bharat played a key role in his evolution as a fast bowler. He honed his skills and it was thanks to him that he landed an IPL contract two years later, in 2017, for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, ”says Prasad.
MSK Prasad, the former chairman of selectors, is among the many who were spellbound by Siraj’s splendid bowling performance in Melbourne today. “What can I say? I mean the way he was bowling today, he didn’t look like he was making his test debut.”
He battled personal tragedy, battled adversity, and is now rewarded with the Indian Trial 🧢 no. 298. Congratulations, Mohammed Siraj. Seize the day! #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/D48TUJ4txp
– BCCI (@BCCI) December 25, 2020
Prasad, who has watched Siraj closely, attests that it is because of the abundance of fast pitchers Team India has at its disposal that Siraj had to wait so long to make his Test debut. “In a way, Siraj’s story is similar to T. Natarajan’s, as they have both done it from humble beginnings. There has never been any doubt in my mind about your credentials as a red bowler. Because we have a lot of fast bowling talents, Siraj had to take the IPL and T20 route before coming to long form cricket. Look at their first-rate numbers, they are really impressive, “he says.
In 38 first-class games, Siraj has represented 152 scalps, averaging over 23, with four sets from five wickets. In 2016, he chose 41 wickets, leading Hyderabad to the Ranji Trophy knockouts for the first time in five seasons. Since then, he has been a regular on India A’s tours, all of which have been instrumental in his smooth transition from a crude pacemaker to a crafty bowler in cricket.
CV Milind, his teammate in Hyderabad, believes that the reason Siraj progresses so fast is because he is such a great learner and never misses an opportunity to rack the brains of his bowling coaches. “It is much more than a raw rhythm. He’s become a smart and cunning bowler with the ability to outsmart opposition hitters. “Milind cites the example of Cameron Green’s firing.” Just look at the way he pitched Green. He got four deliveries to get away from the right-hander, and then just when I least expected it, Siraj tilts him back and catches Green lbw. For a rookie to run on day 1, he just proves his maturity, “adds Milind.
Successes on the cricket field have not changed Siraj’s outlook or behavior. His friends and members of his extended family still rave about his humble and non-fussy ways. Last year, the family moved from their modest rented apartment in Masabtank to a more luxurious setting in Towli Chowki, near Mehdipatnam. Back in Hyderabad, he is known to have financed wedding ceremonies for friends and relatives. “Allah has been kind to us. So Siraj is striving to give back to society. He is truly big-hearted and never stops even once when it comes to doing his best to help others. That has been their nature, ”says Ismail.
Ismail hopes that Siraj’s incisive spell on Day 1 is just the beginning of a long and fruitful international career. There will be no peace of mind for Ismail in the next four days.
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