The loudest cheers were reserved for Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. But that was only until Mohammed Siraj wended his way from the dressing room to join his teammates on the outfield of the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, to warm up ahead of Wednesday’s first One-Day International against New Zealand.
By then, the 28-year-old had played 42 times for India – in Tests, ODIs and T20Is – but never previously in Hyderabad, the city of his birth, or at the stadium in Uppal, his spiritual cricketing home. Starved of watching a local lad in action for the country from the time V.V.S. Laxman hung up his shoes in 2012, more than 31,000 proud Hyderabadis rose as one, welcoming their favourite son and driving him forward with their duas.
Siraj has become a role model for Hyderabadis of all ilk, touching a chord with his rise from humble beginnings to among the premier fast bowlers in the world today. They take particular delight in the fact that despite his meteoric climb, he continues to remain the boy next door, not just cognisant of his roots but openly acknowledging, indeed embracing, them.
Immediately upon arrival from Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening, he sought out old friends and visited the Maidan where, as a teenager, he played make-believe high-profile matches while plying his craft with a tennis ball. That has to be but endearing, indeed even expected, from a city that has always produced down-to-earth champions, from M.L. Jaisimha to Laxman.
Where Siraj is different from the aforementioned duo is in his family background. His late father, Mohammed Ghouse, rode an autorickshaw so that his son could pursue his passion. Siraj remembers that vividly, as he does the contributions of everyone along his journey from hopeful cricketer in the bylanes of Toli Chowki to an international star who rubs shoulders with, and often earns praise from, the superstars of the game, present and past.
Over the last several months, Siraj has come to establish himself as one of the key cogs in the Indian bowling wheel, in red- and white-ball cricket. An ordinary stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022, when he picked up only nine wickets in 15 matches at an economy in excess of 10 runs per over, left his career a little at the crossroads. By then, Siraj had already tasted no little success; in his debut series in Australia in 2020-21, he had played a stellar role in India rising from the ashes like a Phoenix, bouncing back from the ignominy of being bowled out for 36 to complete a Test series triumph that would put various mentions in Ripley’s Believe It or Not to shade. But last summer was his moment of truth, the test of his character, an examination of his fire and hunger and desire.
Siraj responded with a ferocity that has taken many by surprise.
His primary weapon as he moved up the ranks was the inswinger to the right-handed batsman, but as sometimes happens, he lost that skill even as he developed the ball that goes in the other direction, the awayswinger. While he was delighted at having picked up a new dimension, he was also desperate to rediscover the inswinger, even if in a different shape and form. Ergo, the wobbled seam delivery, which can be a bit of a lottery. Mostly, but not always, it darts back in; sometimes, it goes straight through. As Siraj said disarmingly in Thiruvananthapuram the other night, if as a bowler, he himself is not sure how and how much the ball was going to ‘cut’, pray what chance of the batsman knowing the same?
This year, a significant one given that is the year of the 50-over World Cup – and that too in India - has started brilliantly for the Hyderabadi. In four ODIs, against Sri Lanka and now New Zealand, he has already picked up 13 wickets, which is a phenomenal accomplishment considering that all four matches have been played at home, not always the friendliest place for a fast bowler.
Siraj has picked up wickets with the new white ball and the old. He has had batsmen caught in the slips with the outswinger, he has had them bowled through the gate with the wobbled seam ball. From time to time, like in Hyderabad against Devon Conway and then Mitchell Santner, he has unleashed a mean bouncer that hastens on to the bat, hustles the batsman and invariably elicits a false stroke. Mike Hesson, the former New Zealand coach who is now the Director of Cricket at RCB, calls Siraj the ‘complete package’. One would be hard pressed to disagree with him.
Siraj’s recent heroics have catapulted him to a career-best third in the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers. Again, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has seen him in operation. He takes wickets, crucial wickets, and at important stages. So much so that, in Jasprit Bumrah’s sustained absence, he has become Rohit Sharma’s go-to man in a crisis. Like in Hyderabad the other night, when Michael Bracewell and Santner were threatening to take New Zealand to the most unlikely of victories with a partnership of 162. Arrive Siraj at the bowling crease and, in the space of two legal deliveries, he packed off Santner and Henry Shipley to bring India roaring back into the contest. The hometown hero had delivered, in style, finishing with four for 46. As far as homecomings go, this was pretty much perfect.
Siraj’s growing stature is openly endorsed by his colleagues, Rohit leading the bunch. “He is a very important player for us. He has improved his line and length a lot in the last two years,” the skipper agreed. “Now we are getting to see his outswing. He was not known for his swing but he did that against Sri Lanka. That is very good for the team, if he can do that with the new ball consistently.
“He understands his bowling a lot better now, which is a big thing. He also knows what the team wants from him. All in all, he has become a very good bowler. He can take wickets in all phases, we need bowlers like him.”
Siraj is not going anywhere, Rohit. Unless it is places, of course.
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