One of the strong pillars of the contemporary Indian pace bowling attack, Mohammed Siraj turned 30 on 13 March. Coming from a humble background, Siraj has seen many ups and downs, first as a catering guy then a tennis ball cricketer and now a successful India national cricket team player.
As the Hyderabadi fast bowler celebrates his birthday on Wednesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video on its social media platforms, in which Siraj tells about his heartwarming success story that is filled with struggles, nostalgia and good people.
In the video, Siraj talked about his early days of playing cricket with his friends and how the city (Hyderabad) has changed. He visits his childhood friends and coaches whenever he is in Hyderabad and loves to talk with them.
He spoke about the challenges he faced in his early teenage years and how those difficult times made him stronger and helped him succeed in life. "I used to work as a catering service guy and get around 200 rupees daily. I wanted to support the family because we used to live in a rented house and my father's income was not always enough for all of us", told Siraj.
He loves his city and still visits his favourite tea shop and the playground where he grew up. "Whenever I feel stressed in life, I go there (tea shop), everything becomes normal", he said.
Siraj made his T20I debut for India against New Zealand on 4th November 2017. In the Asia Cup Final on 17th September 2023, he became the first Indian to take four wickets in an over and recorded his best bowling figures of 6/21. On 21st January 2023, Siraj became the No. 1 ODI bowler in the ICC ODI Rankings and is currently in fourth place.
Mohammed Siraj has been a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the last seven years after being bought in the 2018 IPL auction.
