Mohammed Siraj: Former Hyderabad opening batter Akshath Reddy recalled the early days of struggle in Mohammed Siraj’s career. The 34-year-old revealed that the pacer did not have proper spikes to wear and would often slip on the grass. He also admitted Siraj was very quick those days and every batter found it hard to play him.
Siraj made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in a Ranji Trophy match against Services in November 2015. Reflecting on the speedster’s early days, Reddy told Mid-day:
“I remember he did not have proper spikes and so would often slip on the grass. Azeem helped him with a new [pair of spikes]. But he bowled really fast stuff anyway. No batter could play him.”
Former India cricketer Arshad Ayub also agreed that Siraj bowled rapidly during his younger days. He added that former India bowling coach Bharat Arun helped mould the pacer when he became the coach of Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy side.
“Siraj was very fast. He had that hunger to excel. We saw his potential and selected him in the U-22 team, and eventually fast-tracked him to the Ranji team in 2015. The next year we had Bharat Arun as our coach and he moulded him into a top quality bowler,” Ayub told Mid-day.
MSK Prasad credits Mohammed Siraj’s exposure to India ‘A’ cricket as a stepping stone for success
Former chairman of BCCI’s men’s selection committee MSK Prasad said that playing a lot of India ‘A’ cricket before making his national debut helped Mohammed Siraj. The former wicketkeeper-batter added that Siraj loved challenges and in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, took over as the leader of the attack admirably. He told Mid-day:
“Systematic grooming helped Siraj grow as a fast bowler. By playing for India ‘A’ in a good number of matches, he got that confidence to bowl alongside pacers like [Mohammed] Shami and [Jasprit] Bumrah.”
“Although he had a bad start in T20Is, he worked his way into the Test team. He had the character and is a workhorse when it comes to bowling long spells. He has always loved challenges and today, in the absence of Bumrah, he took up the responsibility admirably,” Prasad added.
Five years after making his first-class debut, Mohammed Siraj made his Test debut for India in the Boxing Day Test match against Australia in December 2020. He was used as the third change bowler in the first innings, where he claimed figures of 2/40 in 15 overs.
