Mohammed Siraj recalls a strange incident from his early playing days
Star India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj recently featured in a popular YouTube show where he shared a funny incident from his early days
In 2017, a Hyderabad boy made headlines for bagging a multi-crore deal from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). A year later, he found himself in the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp, sharing a dressing room with legends like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. From playing tennis-ball cricket till the age of 19 to becoming a part of RCB at the age of 23, Mohammed Siraj had come a long way in his life. Since then, he has not only transformed himself into a frontline bowler for the Bangalore-based franchise in the IPL but also cemented his place in Team India across all formats.
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Siraj is currently enjoying a great run in the ongoing IPL 2023. He has taken 15 wickets in 11 matches and is also the highest wicket-taker of the team this season. The right-arm pacer recently featured in the latest episode of a popular YouTube show called Breakfast With Champions, where he shared a funny incident from his early days.
Speaking with host Gaurav Kapur, Siraj recalled his under-23 section. Just before the tournament, he was down with dengue and it was so severe that he had to be hospitalised.
“The U-23 team was supposed to leave the next day. I was tense and was pacing up and down. My name was included but I got hospitalised. I have got dengue. My blood cell count had dropped drastically. Agar admit nahi hota to main mar bhi sakta tha (I would have died if I had not been admitted), the blood cells were very low,” Siraj said on the show.
He informed his coach about his condition but since he was a rookie on the team, no one believed him, assuming he must be lying.
“Because I used to make excuses to avoid practice. I couldn’t get up so early. I told the coach, I am in the hospital, it is dengue, it cannot be. Since I was a newcomer, no one knew and believed me. They thought I was lying. He said that if I don’t show up, I will be out of the team.
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“So, I woke up my dad at 5-5:30 in the morning and said, ‘Let’s go for practice, otherwise, they will drop me from the team’. Dad asked, ‘Are you sure you can bowl? Will you?’ I said, ‘I will’. Then he agreed and we quietly left,” Siraj said.
Despite being unwell and weak, Siraj bowled at full strength in the nets and even batted and fielded during training. Later, when he went in for the test, he was taken aback as the results were perfectly normal.
“I went for practice but I had no energy. I was thinking what to do. I had to bowl. I started slowly. I didn’t realize at that time that I had dengue. Gave my 100% bowling during practice. Even I batted and fielded. It was like a miracle. Then I went for check-up and nothing was found. I don’t know how it happened, Siraj said.
