Shining like a star, Mohammed Siraj celebrated his 30th birthday today, March 13th. A right-arm pacer who scaled the summit of ODI rankings last year. He’s emerged as India’s go-to player across formats, a testament to his skill and perseverance.
Mohammed Siraj has played 27 Tests and taken 74 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls.
Mohammed Siraj has taken 68 wickets in 40 ODI innings. He bowled a stunning 6/21 session against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final, which was also his finest performance of his career.
Mohammed Siraj’s T20I career began in 2017, however he has only played 10 matches for India in the shortest version of the game to far. In the ten games, he had 12 wickets and a strike rate of 19.
Mohammed Siraj’s cricket journey across seven years has seen highs and lows. In the beginning, fans mocked his underwhelming shows. But today, his 30th birthday, recalls three moments when he silenced critics.
1. Mohammed Siraj bounces back in the 2023 ODI World Cup
Siraj was in fantastic form going into the 2023 ODI World Cup in India last year. He produced his best spell of 6/21 in the Asia Cup 2023 final before returning with statistics of 1/26 in India’s first ODI World Cup match against Australia.
Mohammed Siraj, on the other hand, had a poor performance against Afghanistan, conceding 76 runs in 10 wicketless overs. Suddenly, many supporters questioned his status on the squad. Siraj bounced back in the second match against Pakistan, capturing the key wickets of Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam.
Former Indian bowler Sreesanth spoke exclusively with Sportskeeda about how those fans were ‘topi masters’.
“Before the match, people were saying ‘Why is Shardul playing?’ And as soon as Siraj started going for runs, people started saying ‘Why is Siraj playing?’ These are topi masters,” Sreesanth said.
2. Mohammed Siraj’s career-changing spell against KKR
Until the IPL 2020, very few fans valued Siraj highly. When Virat Kohli chose Siraj in the playing XI, the majority of supporters questioned his decision. Siraj received a lot of criticism when he scored 44 runs in three wicketless overs against the Punjab Kings on October 15, 2020.
Six days later, when the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) faced the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Siraj delivered a remarkable spell of 3/8 in four overs. He removed Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, and Tom Banton to help RCB defeat KKR in that match.
3. Mohammed Siraj justifies his place in T20I squad
Many supporters were upset in 2022 when Siraj was named to India’s T20I team for the away series against New Zealand. They pointed out that Siraj only took five wickets in six T20Is, with an economy rate of more over ten. In addition, he scored 44 runs in four wicketless overs against South Africa in his previous T20 International.
However, Siraj hushed the skeptics with an outstanding effort against the Blackcaps. He took six wickets in only two T20Is in the series, including a career-best spell of 4/17 in four overs at McLean Park.