AHMEDABAD: The Hyderabadi twang isn’t thick when Mohammed Siraj speaks, but it’s evident. It doesn’t take long to figure out which part of the country the bowler has spent most time grooming his cricketing skills.
While the twang itself can be endearing, it sounded more pleasant when Siraj began explaining how the England top-order fell in relatively quick succession on Thursday. ” Virat bhai bole pressure banaye toh woh khud-ba-khud out hote bolke (Virat said if we build pressure and maintain it, England wickets will eventually start falling),” he said.

The joy in Siraj’s tone was palpable when he started explaining how he had gone about planning Joe Root‘s wicket. “Ball baar baar bahar nikaal raha tha, aur phir ek andar leke aaya. Bahut acha laga jab woh wicket mila (was constantly getting the ball to move away and then brought one in. Felt very good picking that wicket),” he said.
Indeed, Root’s dismissal put England in all sorts of pressure and all things considered, a heavy first-innings total began to look unlikely with each passing over once the skipper was gone. The dismissal also justified Siraj’s selection over Umesh Yadav and in fact now gives Kohli the pretty problem of plenty once Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami return to the squad.
Siraj’s got an absolute no-nonsense approach to dealing with anything finicky when the game’s on – report to the captain. In Sydney, he wasted little time letting Ajinkya Rahane know what was going on in the stands. In Ahmedabad, he again wasted no time in letting Kohli know about Ben Stokes‘ eagerness to chat. ” Woh gaali de raha tha. Kaptaan ko jaake bataa diya (he was abusing, went and told the captain),” he said on the exchange of words with the England all-rounder.
He’s been there and done that in the first-class circuit, been part of India ‘A’ teams and played a lot of IPL too. He has picked 41 wickets in just his second Ranji season, got tutored under Rahul Dravid and backing from Bharat Arun, who first saw him in the RCB nets. And yet, his rise in the Team India ranks has been sudden and sure. “Patience has been the biggest learning,” he said. ” Rahul (Dravid) bhai ne bataaya – patience rakhna, line aur length pakad ke rakhna. Bas ye do cheez karo aur fitness pe dhyaan do. Wohi kar raha hoon.”