Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj is one of the fast-rising pace sensations and has dramatically impacted the side in the longest format. Having made his Test debut in Australia, he has since been on a roll during India's successful Border-Gavaskar Trophy outing in January.
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Having previously represented the side in the limited-overs format, he failed to make a relative impact. Meanwhile, he is celebrating his 27th birthday on Saturday. In the same light, we take a look at six of his interesting trivia.
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Gully boyNo, we are not talking about the famous Bollywood movie here. Still, an intriguing fact about Siraj is that he never went to a cricket academy to learn and refine his bowling skills, owing to the financial crunch in his lower-middle-class family. In contrast, he knew it all and gathered valuable experiences by playing gully cricket in Khaja Nagar of Hyderabad.
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₹500Every cricketer begins to earn something at a stage. As for Siraj, it all started with ₹500. During a club cricket competition, he claimed nine wickets in a game and earned the said prize money for his Man of the Match performance.
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Rise to fameIt was during the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy when he had a dream season in domestic cricket. Playing for Hyderabad, he claimed 41 wickets during the entire season at an average of 18.92, thus finishing as the side's highest wicket-taker.
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IPL callingFollowing his incredible domestic season in 2016-17, during the 2017 Indian Premier League auction, he was roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹2 crore, as he claimed ten wickets in six matches. However, during the 2018 mega-auction, he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore and has since been associated with the side.
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Bettering Javagal SrinathDuring his Test debut in Australia, he tremendously impacted and scalped 13 wickets in six innings. As a result, he became the highest wicket-taker in a debut Test series Down Under, going past the previous record-holder Javagal Srinath, who had claimed ten during the 1991-92 tour.
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Kick start with BMWFollowing his prolific outing in Australia and the considerable cash-prize he received from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Siraj splashed it in the best manner. He went on to own a BMW car.
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