Former India coach Ravi Shastri revealed that there was a chuckle around the dressing room when pacer Mohammed Siraj was appointed the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Telangana. The 63-year-old revealed that the pacer said he would 'sort' his teammates out when they came to the state's capital of Hyderabad in the future.
Shastri also said that Siraj and Rishabh Pant were two of the funniest characters on the side. Siraj was appointed the DSP in October 2024 for his contributions to cricket. It is the second rank in the Indian Police Service (IPS) hierarchy.
“He and [Rishabh] Pant are like that. Especially when he was elevated to the Deputy Superintendent of Police. There was a chuckle around that dressing room. Siraj had to say “Ok, wait till you come to Hyderabad, I will sort you out," Shastri told Michael Atherton on commnentary on Day 1 of Lord's Test on Thursday, July 10 (via Hindustan Times).
Siraj made his Test debut in December 2020, when Shastri was India's coach and has emerged as a reliable bowler for India in red-ball cricket in just under five years. He took figures of 6/70 in the first innings of the second Test match against England at Edgbaston.
Ravi Shastri calls Mohammed Siraj a joker inside the dressing room
Ravi Shastri said that pacer Mohammed Siraj was a bit of a joker inside the dressing room. The 63-year-old said that someone was always poking fun at the fast bowler and riling him up in the changing room.
Shastri revealed that Siraj would also keep falling for it when one or more players poked fun at him. The former India coach said:
"He is quite the character, Mohammed Siraj. Oh, he’s a joker. And he is not poking fun. Someone else keeps poking fun at him. Or riling him up. And he falls for it."
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