From bowling without spikes to driving BMW, the Siraj story

Having played a crucial role in India's famous 2-1 triumph in Australia, Mohammed Siraj returned to Hyderabad this January amid much fanfare, driving directly to his father's grave to pay his last respects. His father, an auto driver, had passed away when Siraj was in the middle of hard quarantine in Australia and went through a traumatic phase, caught between the cruel dilemma of leaving for India to attend his father's last rites and staying back to fulfill the same man's wish of seeing his son wear the India Test cap. After much convincing and counselling from his mates, the 27-year-old stayed back, and the rest is history.

A few days after his return, Siraj posted a picture of himself driving a brand-new BMW through the streets of Hyderabad. Close on the heels of this prized possession, M&M's newly launched SUV Mahindra Thar was delivered, as per chairman Anand Mahindra’s promise following his heroics Down Under. Siraj wasn't around to receive the keys, away playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, so his mother Shabana and brother Ismail received the vehicle.

If Shabana, who once worked as a domestic help, had had her way, Siraj would have been lost to Indian cricket as she never wanted her son to play the sport.

"I wanted him to concentrate on academics," she had said soon after his acquisition by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 for Rs 2.5 crore. "Padega toh kuch paise bhi kama lega (If he studies, he can earn some money as well). There was always a financial crisis at home, and I didn’t want Siraj to waste his time in cricket. We didn’t have anyone who had played the game in our family."

Despite her fear and discouragement because of the financial stress at home, Siraj pursued his passion with his father's active support. He was a tennis-ball "mercenary" in his city, ferried from one tournament to another in return for a biryani or a burger. Skipping studies and playing cricket meant even risking being beaten up by his mother sometimes.

"We were concerned about his future, but I can’t believe how well he has come up in his game," she would say later.

No spikes

Given the financial situation at home, Siraj had nothing to declare but his unpolished talent when he played in the Hyderabad zonals.

"We have these zonal matches to pick state teams for the Ranji Trophy and the all-India Under-23 tournament," Hyderabad batsman P Akshath Reddy told DH. "Siraj happened to be in my team and our coach was (former Hyderabad opener) Abdul Azeem. He didn't have too many variations but was quick enough to rattle the batsmen. And he was doing so without spikes as he didn't have any. In fact, Azeem sir sponsored his spikes. It was only after that that he started bowling with spikes."

This was in 2014, when Siraj was just past his teen years.

Siraj's initiation into structured cricket was late but his growth has been rapid, especially in the red-ball format despite his debut season (2015-16) netting just one appearance. He had a forgettable outing against Services in Delhi, where he took a solitary wicket in 34 overs across two innings, following which he was banished to the U-23 side.

The following season coincided with current India bowling coach Bharat Arun taking over as Hyderabad coach after his first stint with the Indian team. He was there for just one year before rejoining the national side, but during this short period, Arun lent a fresh dimension to Siraj's bowling and a new impetus to his career. It was under Arun that Siraj enjoyed a breakthrough 2016-17, bagging 41 wickets, including a match haul of nine wickets against Mumbai.

As he clocked more experience and added variety to his bowling, he inched closer to an India cap. Though he played three ODIs and a T20I, his true calling was Test cricket, and he got a chance to parade his red-ball skills in Australia, even if more by accident than design.

It helped Siraj that he was again under Arun’s tutelage. There was a certain comfort level and Arun knew exactly how to guide him on pitches where the bounce and carry often entices rookie sub-continental pacers into overdoing things. For a Test debutant, Siraj showed remarkable control over his craft. In the absence of the injured senior pacemen, he emerged the spearhead.

Cartwheeling

Former Hyderabad paceman P Jyothi Prasad has no doubt Arun has had a huge influence on Siraj's bowling.

"Siraj is quite lucky in the sense that his bowling took off in Hyderabad under Arun and then when he made it to the Indian team. He had pace but he was quite raw. It's Arun who helped his bowling evolve," said Prasad, who as Hyderabad chairman of selectors first picked him after watching him bowl fast on unresponsive pitches.

"When I first saw him in a local match, he was raw and quicker," Prasad told DH about how he unearthed the gem. "What impressed me about him was that for someone so fast at that age (Siraj was barely 20 then), he had good rhythm. Also, he wasn't just uprooting stumps but sending them cartwheeling. I hadn't seen anyone do that for a long time. Since Hyderabad lacked a genuine quick bowler, I picked him for selection matches for the state U-23 and Ranji teams.

"Fortunately for him, Arun was also roped in as coach of Hyderabad the same year. I have been a pace bowler myself and I briefed Arun about Siraj. Since then, there has been a marked improvement in his bowling. I would say he is a totally different bowler from what he was less than two years ago. From his grip to delivery stride to the finish... There is a certain finesse to his bowling now."

From not having bowling spikes to owning a BMW and from just being a raw talent which he plied for a biryani or a burger to metamorphosing into the national captain's go-to bowler, Siraj's rags-to-riches story is an inspirational one.