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Back in early 2017, there was quite a buzz around India, for a pacer named Mohammed Siraj – someone who hadn’t been scouted as much in the junior echelons – was setting the domestic circuit absolutely ablaze.
Siraj was regularly picking up wickets for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy and was doing so at a brisk pace, meaning that Siraj was ticking all the boxes to become another one of India’s new-age fast bowlers. Not only was he hustling batters with his raw speed but he was also getting the ball to talk, which - considering some of the relatively placid pitches in India - was an achievement in itself.
Siraj’s meteoric rise didn’t go unnoticed and as has become the norm for X-Factor cricketers of his ilk, an IPL contract lay in store. The Sunrisers Hyderabad shelled out 2.6 crore INR at the 2017 auction and ensured that he turned out for them in that particular edition, hoping that Siraj would help them retain the title they’d won in 2016.
A few months later, Siraj’s unique skill-set found an admirer in Virat Kohli, who quickly fast-tracked him into India’s white-ball setup when New Zealand came calling in November 2017. Unfortunately for Siraj, his debut didn’t quite go to plan as he shipped 53 runs in his quota of four overs, with a solitary scalp to show for his efforts.
Intermittent appearances against Sri Lanka (in December 2017) and Bangladesh (in March 2018) followed. However, he was neither able to recreate the magic that had hoodwinked several batters in domestic cricket nor show people what the hype surrounding him was all about.
Over the next couple of years, Siraj didn’t particularly cover himself in glory in the IPL, meaning that he, much like several of his contemporaries at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, became the source of mockery. Or as the current social media climate dictates – a meme.
So when Siraj was picked for the tour to Australia in 2020-21, it was met with moans and groans. To be completely frank, plenty even suggested that Siraj had gotten into the team due to his RCB connections.
Across the tour, though, Siraj portrayed why he was on the plane in the first place. Let alone being a member, he ended up becoming the leader of the bowling attack by the time India’s wounded caravan reached Brisbane. And if that wasn’t enough, he was a pivotal part of everything that transpired that afternoon at the Gabba.
While much of the limelight has understandably been hogged by Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill, it was perhaps Siraj who had set the foundation. But in a country obsessed with batting achievements, Siraj was a mere fast-bowling mortal – a prototype doesn’t necessarily excite the paparazzi in India.
Unsurprisingly, numerous pundits felt that that performance at the Gabba might be very tough for Siraj to emulate. Not just because it was perhaps the best display of his natural ability, but also because it came at a time when the chips (and players) were down. Somehow, though, Siraj bettered that showing in Brisbane with an even more incredible outing at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in August 2021.
For the majority of the 2nd Test against England, India seemed to be the side behind the eight-ball. They had squandered the advantage they had fashioned on Day 1 and might’ve even feared defeat at the close of play on Day 4. In between those two days, there weren’t a lot of positives for India. Or more specifically, not a lot of positives not named Mohammed Siraj.
Ever since making his debut in top-level cricket, Siraj has seemed like someone boasting an exceptional work-rate. He falls into the “workhorse” category of bowlers and isn’t afraid to bowl long spells. He relishes the challenge of bending his back incessantly on unhelpful surfaces, for he believes, deep down, that he can regularly outlast batters.
Mohammed Siraj was magnificent at Lord's
A major reason for the aforementioned is that Siraj has the heart of a lion – a trait that rarely allows him to wander and always keeps him in the face of the batters. England found that out on Day 5 at Lord’s and at Trent Bridge. Australia did so in Brisbane too, meaning that it is an inherent part of Siraj’s bowling.
Apart from that, Siraj has the natural ability to slant the ball into the right-handers and away from the left-handers. In turn, whenever the ball even holds its line, it feels like a deviation from the mean, often forcing batters into prods and pushes that they ordinarily wouldn’t have indulged in.
On tracks that offer extravagant movement, that is a characteristic a lot of bowlers would be able to mirror. But while the pitch is pretty docile, not many bowlers are able to replicate it.
More importantly, though, it comes at junctures when the batters feel that batting has become easier and get lulled into a false sense of security. A bubble that ultimately gets popped by Siraj. Again, something that the likes of Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran had to contend with at Lord’s.
However, that extraordinary ability is also not the most impressive aspect about Siraj’s bowling. That accolade is rightly reserved for his attitude, which on tough days seems the beacon of inspiration that drives the team forward.
On Day 5, when Siraj was not making English batters bunnies of his bowling, he found time to let them know exactly what he was thinking. As soon as Rory Burns walked out to the center and played his first ball, Siraj ran in from mid-off, only to tell the Englishman the ball was doing a bit – something Burns certainly wouldn’t have known had Siraj not told him so.
On the bowling front, Siraj rarely allowed the English batters a moment of peace. He constantly kept plugging away on a length and kept posing questions – questions that tested the technique and the temperament of his English counterparts.
In simple terms, Siraj, in a lot of ways, embodies the new India – an India that doesn’t back down to any side in any conditions, and most tellingly, is willing to fight fire with fire.
To put it more plainly, Siraj could even be the heartbeat of this Indian team under Virat Kohli, which despite not winning the World Test Championship, still has significant chances to win Test matches abroad. To an extent, Siraj might have even become un-droppable!
Not just because he seems to have all the ingredients top-quality fast bowlers have, but also because he seems to be in the game at all junctures, irrespective of the state of the game or the conditions. He has always had the natural ability and now that he has married it with astute tactical nous, he has become quite irresistible.
Years ago, when Siraj was hastily handed his white-ball debut, he seemed like a deer caught in the headlights – a greenhorn who just didn’t know what would work in international cricket and one who rammed straight into each obstacle kept in front of him.
Tons of memes and countless hours of hard work later, he is now proving what the initial hype was all about. And somehow, that hype also doesn’t seem enough – such has been the stature of his displays.
Maybe he is making up for lost time. Or maybe he is just illustrating that this is his time. If the latter is true, the Indian cricketing fraternity might have officially entered the Mohammed Siraj era of fast bowling. And on early evidence, there aren’t many better places to be in!
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