Mohammed Siraj had bowled two beamers during an IPL 2019 game against KKR and received significant criticism for his expensive spell. However, during the past two years, Mohammed Siraj made his name as one of the fiercest fast bowlers in the Indian team.
The right-armer has already cemented his place in Test XI and is one of the few all-format players in the Indian team. The 27-year-old is also a part of India’s ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming limited-overs series against the West Indies. Mohammed Siraj is also making a return to the ODI XI after over 3 years, having last made an appearance in 2019 against Australia, after being picked in 1st ODI versus West Indies.
Mohammed Siraj Debuted In Test Against Australia In Melbourne
Mohammed Siraj gained significant strides in Indian cricket circles after impressive performances in the IPL 2020, where he took 11 wickets in nine games; while his performances improved further in IPL 2021 when he bowled at an economy rate of merely 6.78 in fifteen matches.
As a result, he earned an international call-up for the tour of Australia and made his Test debut in Melbourne; eventually finishing as India’s highest wicket-taker in the series (13 wickets in three games).
However, Mohammed Siraj didn’t have a good start to his international career in 2017 when he proved expensive in a T20I against New Zealand.
Mohammed Siraj on Criticism:
A year later, he struggled in the IPL as well and Mohammed Siraj recalled a game against KKR in the 2019 edition, where he bowled two beamers and was removed from the attack, registering figures of 0/36 in merely 2.2 overs.
“When I bowled two beamers against KKR in 2019, I received a lot of criticism. People even told me to leave cricket and ‘go drive auto with your father’. There were so many comments,” Siraj said on the RCB Podcast.
“When I was first selected for India, Mahi bhai told me one thing; ‘Don’t listen to anyone. You will play good today, and everyone will praise you. Tomorrow, when you perform badly, the same people will bring you down. Never take an opinion’.
“I remember people trolled me so much back then. The same people call me the ‘best bowler’ now. I don’t need to listen to that. I was the same Siraj then and I am the same Siraj now.”
Mohammed Siraj mentioned that IPL made his life “better.”
“When I was selected in the IPL, my life got better. My father stopped driving the auto, we bought a new home. I didn’t need anything else in life. I only strived to work harder then,” said the Indian fast bowler.”
Talking to the RCB podcast, he remembered a piece of advice from MS Dhoni that he received from him after his India debut. He further said that it was his advice that helped him move forward in his international career.
Mohammed Siraj further said that IPL has made his life better. The pacer was retained for seven crores by his IPL franchise RCB. He lost his father during India’s Tour down under in 2021 but emerged as one of India’s finds in the series.
Mohammed Siraj was also one among three retained players by RCB as they retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj. So far he picked 36 Test wickets in only 12 matches with an average of 29.63. He has also picked 4 scalps in as many T20Is.