Ajinkya Rahane shared a funny story about Mohammed Siraj from years ago recently. Back when Siraj was new to Test cricket, he got really angry with Rahane. The young fast bowler wanted to bowl more, but his captain had different plans.
Rahane was India’s captain when Siraj played his first Test matches. Siraj desperately wanted to bowl and take wickets for his country every time. But Rahane sometimes made him wait on the field before bowling his spells.
This made Siraj really mad because he always wants to bowl. His fighting spirit and hunger for wickets impressed everyone watching those matches back then.
Siraj Gets Angry With His Captain
During one of his early Test matches, Siraj got frustrated when Rahane delayed bringing him. The young bowler felt he could take wickets if given the ball earlier. He walked up to his captain and complained about the bowling changes loudly.
“What I like about Siraj is that he always likes to bowl longer spells. Even in the 2020-21 series, he was willing to do that with the same intensity. In Australia, when he was making his debut, he was angry because I had introduced him into the attack very late,” said Rahane.
Rahane laughed, remembering how passionate Siraj was about getting chances to bowl. Most new players stay quiet and follow orders from their captains without question. But Siraj was different and always spoke his mind about team strategies.
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This incident showed everyone that Siraj had the heart of a real fighter. He never wanted to waste time standing in the field doing nothing.
“He still has the anger inside him. This anger brings out the best in Mohammed Siraj. We saw in the England series. The aggression in his bowling and the intensity with which he bowls, he is always warmed up by the time he bowls his first ball. This is the great quality of a great bowler,” he added.
Siraj Proves His Worth Against England
Look what happened when Siraj got his big chance against England this year! He grabbed 23 wickets across all five Test matches, which was amazing. Nobody else took more wickets than him in that whole series.
Siraj bowled his heart out for over 185 overs without getting tired. He kept running in and bowling fast deliveries even on hot days. When India needed someone to win that final Test, Siraj delivered perfectly.
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India won by just six runs at the Oval, and Siraj was the hero. He got the Player of the Match award, which made him super happy. All those years of wanting to bowl more finally paid off big time.
Rahane must be proud watching Siraj become such a star bowler now. The angry young man from his debut days turned into India’s bowling leader. When Bumrah couldn’t play, Siraj took charge and showed everyone his real skills.
