Siraj discloses how Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni: The Indian fast bowler wax lyrical about the two senior cricketers.
India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has been in and around the national squad across formats now. Having made his T20I debut during New Zealand’s tour of India in 2017, Siraj made his ODI against Australia in January.
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Originally not part of the squad, Siraj was called-up to Australia as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah. Siraj’s only ODI on the series was the second one at Adelaide. Having registered bowling figures of 10-0-76-0, Siraj hadn’t marked an impressive debut.
While he might have missed out on the chance of creating an immediate impact and making it to the Indian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, all is not lost for Siraj. Because of his consistent domestic performance, the 24-year old cricketer is expected to receive more opportunities post the World Cup.
Our Playing XI for the game. Mohammed Siraj makes his ODI debut for #TeamIndia. pic.twitter.com/HpKhkyGa0P
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 15, 2019
Mohammad Siraj Journey:
From Auto driver son
To first class debut in 2015
To IPL debut in 2017
To International debut in 2017
Respect
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) November 4, 2017
Most expensive Indian bowler on T20I debut:
57 Joginder Sharma v Eng, Durban, 2007
53 M SIRAJ – #INDvNZ
52 A Nehra v SL, Nagpur, 2009— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) November 4, 2017
“Kohli and Dhoni spend time with bowlers”
In a recent interview with CricketNext, Siraj was vocal about the two biggest names in Indian cricket in captain Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Siraj disclosed that the two cricketers spending time with all the bowlers individually help them. He also laid emphasis on the importance of Coach Ravi Shastri and Bowling Coach Bharat Arun.
“They [Kohli and Dhoni] spend time with all bowlers individually. Coaches [Bharat] Arun and Ravi [Shastri] sir’s inputs were also very good. They told me to bowl in the nets like I would bowl in match conditions and that helped me get a lot of focus. They instructed me not to try experiment too much, just bowl back of a length as much as possible,” Siraj was quoted as saying.
debut for Prithvi Shaw – not for Mayank Agarwal yet, Vihari & Siraj also to sit out. #INDvWI https://t.co/Bd163SPbPr
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) October 3, 2018
Mohammad Siraj conceded second most runs by an Indian bowler on debut in ODI history…
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 15, 2019
🇦🇺 have won the toss and opted to bat.
🇮🇳 make one change and Mohammed Siraj will be making his ODI debut today! 💪
How much should 🇮🇳 restrict 🇦🇺 to have a good chance at winning this game?#AUSvIND #PlayBold
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) January 15, 2019
“Playing under Virat is great experience”
Having made his Indian Premier League debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017, Siraj played for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season. In 17 IPL matches, Siraj has picked up 21 wickets at an average of 21.57, an economy rate of 9.04 and a strike rate of 18.28.
Playing under Kohli at RCB also seems to have aid Siraj. Reflecting on his experience about the same, he said, “Playing under Virat at RCB is great experience. He is such a great batsman, he gives great insights to me how a batsman thinks at the crease and how to bowl at different stages.”
