Mohammed Siraj reflected on the early stages of his career and how a pep talk from MS Dhoni when he first played for Team India helped him stay grounded through the highs and lows, where he has earned a lot of praise but also got a lot of criticism from all corners.
The star pacer also recalled the trolling he recieved in the early stages of his career, especially in 2018 during the Indian Premier League (IPL), when he was playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Siraj recalled that he was even trolled on his late father’s occupation.
“I remember when I joined the India team, MS Dhoni had told me, ‘Kisi ki baaton mein nahin aana. Jab tu acha karega, toh poori duniya tumhare saath rahegi, aur jab kharaab karega, yahi duniya tujhe gaali degi.’ (Don’t pay attention to what others say. When you are performing well, the entire world will be with you, and when you aren’t, they will abuse you),” said Siraj in an interaction with Indian Express.
“Yes, the trolling was bad. When you perform, the fans and the world will be with you and say ‘there is no bowler like Siraj’. In the next game, if you don’t perform, they will say, ‘Arre, what sort of bowler is this. Jaake apne baap ke saath auto chalao’ (go and ride the auto with your father) – what’s the point of this? You are hero in one match and zero in another (smiles). People change that quickly? I decided that I don’t need outside opinion and validation. What my teammates and family think of me is important, people who matter. I don’t care what others think,” Siraj added.
Mohammed Siraj’s Inspiring Story
Siraj is among Indian cricket’s most inspiring stories and a true rags-to-riches tale. The son of an auto rickshaw driver has now become not just a key member of the Indian team, but he is also among the world’s best pace bowlers.
Siraj made his debut for India in November 2017 in a T20I against New Zealand and later made his ODI debut against Australia in January 2019. However, he played only four matches in both formats till his Test debut in the 2020 Boxing Day Test against Australia at MCG, from where he became a mainstay of the Indian team across formats.
So far, Siraj has played 42 Tests, 48 ODIs, and 16 T20Is for India and has 130, 71, and 14 wickets respectively.