Why Mohammed Siraj is a perfect underdog story

If Mohammed Siraj can, we can too. That’s the Oval lesson. (BCCI Photo)

As the dust settles on the manic England tour, it is time to take stock of what Mohammed Siraj truly achieved in the course of the last two months and why it matters so much to us in India.

The truth is, there is so much more to sport than winning or losing. That one team will win on a given day and one will lose despite its best effort is only a surface reality. What plays backstage, stuff that we don’t often see, may well at times convey the true significance of sport. The Oval Test was one such. On the face of it the Test match was one of the greatest ever in cricketing history. It marked the culmination of a fantastic summer for India and saw the coming to the fore of a new India. But backstage a lot many things were happening and Mohammed Siraj was at the centre of it all.

We have watched and studied Indian cricket for a living. And needless to say it is a rich history. We started playing international cricket in 1932 and have had many incredible moments in the years gone by. While none can possibly top the Indian takeover of Lord’s in 1983, the one moment from the Oval Test that will forever remain a perfect picture postcard for India was when Mohammed Siraj was walking back after receiving the player of the match award and his teammates were clapping for the new found hero.

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Here was a simple young man from Hyderabad who was bringing smiles to a billion faces with his illustrious teammates cheering him on. He wasn’t Muslim or Hindu. He was Indian. This was the India of our dreams turning into a reality. Not the toxic India that plays out every day on national television. Not the divisive India that plays into the hands of politicians. Not the India deeply divided by privilege and underprivilege. This was an India of hope and an India that dares to dream.

23 wickets and Siraj ended up as India’s highest wicket taker. It was only fitting that his teammates literally gave him a guard of honour. He was so much more than a cricketer. He was now the leader of the bowling pack. Good things indeed happen to good people and good men do come first in the end. Siraj is proof. This team is proof and that’s our life lesson from this tour.

And by the way we will not judge Siraj by his religion. How many of us thought if he was Hindu or Muslim when he was walking back after receiving the award? How many of us even bothered about his religion or caste or other markers of identity? All that mattered to us was that he was the leader of our attack and was filling in for the genius Jasprit Bumrah and needless to say it wasn’t an easy task. Yet he was up to it. He is the perfect underdog story, which we so identify with in India and that’s what makes him so much more relevant.

Siraj has failed on multiple occasions in the past just like so many of us have. But he dared to push and eventually win. Can we all do the same? A little more discipline and self restraint and we can indeed win our own little battles. If Siraj can, we can. That’s the backstage lesson we need to imbibe.