The best thing about ‘Time’ is that it seldom remains same. Try adding a dash of hard work and dedication, and you can almost guarantee that you’ll change your destiny for the future. Ever wondered which current IPL headline-maker exemplifies this the best?
Mohammed Siraj definitely had these traits along with abundance of self belief and knew his time’s gonna come when he said to his mother ‘Mom, a day will come when I will earn so much that you won’t have enough space to keep it.”
For a boy who often had to borrow money from friends to make his ends meet, to make such tall claims to his mother needed two things among others, extraordinary self belief and a touch of craziness.
To put things into context, Mohammed Siraj was not born with a silver spoon. A father as an auto rickshaw driver, Siraj’s life has more troubles than what a spendthrift chick would imagine being lost in the charade of brands.
It’s a testimony of the hardships faced by Mohammed Siraj that he used to get Rs 70 daily as his pocket money out of which Rs 60 was spent on buying a litre of petrol for his Bajaj Platina, which he rode to practice. What was left after it was virtually nothing.
Slowly and steadily putting all the financial restraints aside and with all the hard work and dedication, Mohammed Siraj kept raising his game which resulted him getting a much deserved first class debut for Hyderabad in 2015.
The 26-year-old, has been sensational in the domestic circuit ever since picking up 147 wickets in first class cricket from 36 games at an average of 23, his best performance being figures of 8/59 for India A against a line up that included several Test players like Usman Khwaja and Marnus Labuschagne.
Financial rewards were soon gonna follow for Mohammed Siraj who was picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for 2.60 crores in the 2017 IPL Auctions and in the subsequent year by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the same price.
It goes without saying that life never remained the same for a young Siraj. Being very close to his parents, the 1st thing Siraj did with the windfall was to buy a comfortable house for them.
Being picked up in the auction and being a regular in a playing line up are two different things when it comes to the competitive world of the Indian Premier League.
The Reformation Post A Forgettable (past) IPL Run
Mohammed Siraj’s journey with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has been nothing short of roller coaster ride: exciting ups, strange downs and often, vice-versa. After hardly getting a game in the 2018 season of the IPL, Siraj could only muster 7 wickets at quite a high economy rate in the 9 games of the 2019 season, leading him to an intense scrutiny and criticism on social media.
Not that, he didn’t deserved that criticism. After all, Mohammed Siraj had been the worst- performing among 92 bowlers to have delivered 100 plus overs in the IPL, with an economy of 9.2.
Surely, must have been painful; which bowler likes to be clubbed?
Nevertheless, the proverb, ‘Good things comes to those who wait,’ would come true for Mohammed Siraj not too long after a forgettable run.
The current IPL edition has proven to be the season where Siraj is bowling akin to a man determined to correct many wrongs.
Can True Potential Ever Be Denied?
In a group fixture game against the Kolkatta Knight Riders (KKR), Siraj became the the bowler with most economic figures in IPL 2020, among the bowlers to have bowled a minimum of 12 balls in a single spell. Irony can shoot itself in the face.
For once, good fortune made its presence crystal clear on Mohammed Siraj, who had been a butt of all jokes in the IPL. He registered figures of 3/8, his best in the ongoing IPL 2020, just 5 days prior to the announcement of the Indian squad for a tour of Australia.
Mohammed Siraj being chosen as the fifth quickie in India’s Test pace battery which includes Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and another young gun, Navdeep Saini.
This is not the 1st time though that Siraj will be donning an Indian cap. He made his T20I debut as early as November 2017, barely 2 years after playing his maiden First-class match.
Why Things Look Bright For Siraj Ahead?
At heart, Mohammed Siraj is a red-ball bowler who loves sticking to a length and line. If conditions favour him, he can run through sides like he has done in his short Ranji trophy career.
With Bumrah and Shami being the spearheads of the Indian pace attack and an injured Ishant Sharma not a certainty, Siraj will be expected to bowl that nagging line and length, a role which Ishant Sharma is accustomed to play.
Well, From getting a daily pocket money of Rs 70 to probably being in the 11 come the Boxing Day Test Match against Australia at the mighty MCG, “Time” indeed seldom remains the same.
