Mohammed Siraj’s Story: From playing in slippers to becoming an Indian Cricket gem
India’s fast bowler Mohammed Siraj doesn’t come from a middle-class background. A child from a middle-class family has access to things Siraj never had. He played cricket wearing slippers till he was 19. He spent his childhood living in a rented apartment in the Khaja Nagar area near Banjara Hills in Hyderabad, Telangana.
His father, who was an autodriver, loved him dearly, while his mother worked as a cleaner. His elder brother, Mohammed Ismail, became a software engineer, while Siraj was always found playing cricket in the streets.
Mohammed Siraj used to get 100 rupees from his parents, and 40 rupees out of that was spent on fueling his bike’s tank.
Siraj wouldn’t return home until his father came back, as he was the one who used to protect him from his mother’s scoldings. Seeing her elder son doing well in life, Siraj’s mother would be deeply concerned about his future.
“Baad me ye mat bolna ki badde bette ko engineer banaya, mujhe kuch nahi banaya”- Siraj’s mother would tell him often.
“Nahi bolunga”- Siraj would reply.
Like most of the middle-class boys in India, Siraj loved cricket and spent most of his time playing the game in the streets. He later travelled to different locations to play tennis-ball tournaments and would often win prizes for his superb bowling.
Most international cricket players start their red-ball cricket training early in their formative years. But what’s most astonishing is the fact that Siraj never even touched the red ball till he was 19. He took the red ball in his hand for the first time when he was 19 years old. He had no idea about swing and seam, but his pace was enough to rattle the batters. In his first red-ball game, Mohammed Siraj picked a five-wicket haul and received 500 rupees as a blessing from his uncle, whose club’s team he played for.
His pace, bounce, and aggressive nature caught the attention of many, and soon he got a dream call-up,
Ranji Trophy Debut
He got picked for the Hyderabad Under-23 team, and from there, was fast-tracked into the Ranji Trophy squad in the 2015–16 season. He was dropped after playing just one match for Hyderabad. Not giving much thought to his exclusion, he kept working hard and persisted.
As fate would have it, Bharat Arun became Hyderabad’s coach next season, and he fought hard for Siraj’s inclusion in Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy squad. That season, Siraj picked up the most wickets for Hyderabad. He took 41 wickets in nine matches, helping his team reach the knockout stage for the first time in many years.
Time to become wealthy! IPL career
Consistent performance for Hyderabad and India A in different tournaments helped him become a household name in domestic cricket, and an IPL contract wasn’t far away. The 10th season of the Indian Premier League saw Sunrisers Hyderabad buy his services for a whopping amount of 2.6 crore. He played six matches and picked 10 wickets that season. However, his erratic line and lengths didn’t help him get retained for the next season.
He caused a bidding war in the next IPL season, but it was RCB who ended up fetching him for a massive sum of INR 2.6 crore. He picked 11 wickets in his maiden season for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Indian pacers became an integral part of the franchise and a go-to bowler for captain Virat Kohli. He featured for RCB for seven consecutive seasons, picking 83 wickets in 87 matches.
Surprisingly, RCB didn’t retain him last year, and it invited a lot of criticism from the fans. Mohammed Siraj played for Gujarat Titans in the 2024 edition, picking 16 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 32.94. His best season in the Indian Premier League came in 2023, where he picked 19 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 7.52.
International debut:
Mohammed Siraj made his T20 international debut on 4th November 2017 against New Zealand at Rajkot. He went for 53 runs in four overs and picked up one wicket. His ODI debut came two years later in 2019 on the tour of Australia. Siraj went wicketless in his 10-over spell and went for 76 runs.
Siraj's breakthrough international series came on India’s Test tour of Australia in 2020. He was picked for the MCG Test against Australia, owing to an injury to Mohammed Shami, and made an impressive start to life as a Test cricketer. With most of the prominent bowlers getting injured, Siraj became India’s strike bowler, and he played a key role in helping India win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Siraj kept improving and soon became a permanent member in the ODI side as well. Consistent performances helped him become the world’s number one bowler in 2023. Mohammed Siraj was the talk of the town after he produced a scintillating performance in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He ended the series as the highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets to his name.
Mohammed Siraj has played 41 Tests, 44 ODIs, and 16 T20 internationals so far, picking 123, 71, and 14 wickets, respectively.
