Mohammed Siraj

An unknown quantity before the 2016-17 season, Mohammed Siraj, made a name for himself as he guided Hyderabad to a quarter-final finish in the Ranji Trophy, taking 41 wickets from nine matches and finishing as the third leading wicket-taker in the coveted tournament. A late bloomer as per Indian cricketing standards, Siraj took to serious cricket only in 2015.

That effort brought him immense recognition and a place in the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite not being that tall, Siraj's ability to procure pace and bounce impressed Tom Moody, Coach, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and he played a starring role as the franchise reached the knock-out stage of the competition. Such was the demand for the right-arm fast bowler that he went from a nominal base price of Rupees 20 lakhs INR to a final winning bid of Rupees 2.6 crores INR. Despite playing just six matches, he ended up with 10 wickets, although he was a touch expensive.

The speedster missed out on the Ranji season in 2017-18 and played only one game but he was back for the Vijay Hazare trophy and starred with the ball for Hyderabad. He picked up 23 wickets in 7 games which included 3 5-wicket hauls. The 'Hyderabad Express' also nipped out 10 wickets from 5 games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tourney.

Siraj made his International debut in 2017, but never really stayed in the reckoning for the country. It was only in December, 2020 when Siraj made the world take notice of his abilities. 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. By the end of the series, Siraj was India’s strike Test bowler with the other regulars all being ruled out due to injury. His contributions were pivotal as India claimed a famous 2-1 away win against Australia.

Siraj started to shine as an ODI bowler as well, and was lethal particularly in the powerplay. In January 2023, Siraj became the top ranked ODI bowler in the world. He produced a stunning spell of 6/21 in the 2023 Asia Cup final as India humbled Sri Lanka on their own patch. Siraj was part of the World Cup squad as well, sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah.

He was picked for the 2024 T20I World Cup as well, and played all the games in the USA leg of the tournament. When the competition moved to the West Indies, Siraj was replaced by Kuldeep Yadav. A serious grafter who has come through putting in the hard yards, Mohammad Siraj has now become a proper three format player for India, and a genuine wicket-taker in all conditions.

IPL through the years

The right-arm quick caught the eyeballs during the 2017 IPL auctions when Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for INR 2.6 crore from a base price of 20 lakh. He didn't feature much as he got only six games, but he impressed by picking up 10 wickets. However, his erratic bowling nature worked against him as he was let go the next season.

Royal Challengers Bangalore trying to form a new team identified Siraj's talent and went after him in the 2018 auctions. They beat four other franchises to land Siraj at Bangalore for INR 2.6 crore. He did not start the first few games but once picked he became Kohli's go-to death bowler and ended the season with 11 scalps and thus ensured he was retained for the following edition.

In his initial years, Siraj wasn’t the most accurate and conceded a lot of runs in the IPL, but he was a much improved player post 2022. Despite playing most of his games in the small dimensions of the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Siraj was the most reliable for RCB and always amongst the wickets. Ahead of the mega auctions, he wasn’t retained by Bangalore and was picked up by Gujarat Titans for 12.25 crores.