"I still believe it's a miracle"- Mohammed Siraj recalls how his Dengue 'disappeared' during practice

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj has been well-known for the passion that he shows for the game and the hard yards that he puts into every delivery. He has seen some tough times in his life, but has found a way to fight out of it consistently.

One such situation was when Siraj was named in Hyderabad's U23 squad. Just before he could begin practice with the team, the pacer was diagnosed with Dengue. He claimed that his coach didn't believe it and asked him to come to practice if he really wanted to be in the team.

On the show 'Breakfast with Champions', Mohammed Siraj explained just how he miraculously got better as soon as he started practicing. He said:

"My name came in the U23 squad, but I had to be hospitalized due to Dengue. I was told by my coach that I would be removed from the team if I don't go to practice. So my father helped me escape from the hospital and I reached the ground for practice. Miraculously, I could bat, bowl and field well and it just didn't seem like I had dengue. I went back later and did the tests and there was absolutely no dengue. I still believe it's a miracle, possibly due to the prayers of my parents."

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Mohammed Siraj used to play tennis ball cricket till age of 19

It's almost hard to believe that Mohammed Siraj began playing cricket with the season ball only after he was 19 years of age. The pacer spoke about how he joined a club and how unaware he was about how to swing the ball.

On this, Siraj stated:

"I used to play tennis ball cricket till 19 years of age. Then I got an opportunity to play with the red ball at a club. I had to give money at home too from the match fees I would get so I accepted the offer. I was using the new ball for the first time, didn't know what inswing or outswing was. But I took five wickets as they got beaten for pace. I had no idea of playing in spikes as well."

Mohammed Siraj has made incredible progress, especially in Test cricket and will now be a crucial bowler for India in the World Test Championship final next month.