MUMBAI: Mohammed Siraj last played a T20I for India on July 30, 2024. Since then the Hyderabad pacer has played nine ODIs and 18 Tests for the country and helped them script quite a few famous victories including the Oval Test against England last year. With no opportunity in the shortest format, Siraj got to know he is not in the scheme of things for the T20 World Cup and had some other plans even when his team was gearing up to defend their crown at home soil.
But destiny had something else in store for him. He not only got a call-up but got to play India's first match as bowling ace Jasprit Bumrah got unwell and had to sit out of the match. As luck would have it, Siraj made a dream return to the side turning out to be one of heroes for India's victory in their opener against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night.
Siraj was chirpy as usual during the post-match press conference and revealed the plans he had made for this month until he got a call from captain Suryakumar Yadav. "My plan was that on the 15th, there was a Real Madrid match, and I was going to watch it (from the stands). After that, Ramadan is coming, so I had planned around that. But whatever God has written will happen," he said during the press conference.
The 31-year-old right-arm pacer said it felt like a dream even when he was on the flight. "It was hard. First of all, in the last 24 hours, when I was sitting on the flight, it felt like a dream. Because I never thought I would play in the World Cup. For the past year, the planning was that all the World Cup players would get chances in T20s. But when I didn’t play in T20s, I understood that I wouldn’t be part of it this year. But God changed my destiny," he said.
Elaborating on the turn of events in the last couple of days, he said, "I was spending time with my family, and one day before, I got a message from Adrian (Le Roux, India's strength and conditioning coach) asking about my plans for the next few days. I said, don’t message me right now—I’m resting because I’m playing two four-day games. I need rest, and after that we’ll see the plan. Then suddenly, Surya bhai called me. He said, Miyan get ready, pack your bag, and come. I said, Surya bhai, don’t joke, because this is not going to happen. He said, I’m telling you the truth—get ready. As soon as he hung up, I got a call from selector (Pragyan) Ojha. So suddenly, I got shocking news. No one can change what God has written. I came, played the match—everything was written. God is great. No one can do anything beyond that."
He might have been absent from the India's T20I set up for almost two years but it didn't matter when he was given the new ball. Siraj sent back USA opener Andries Gous in his first over, second of the innings and then had the wicket of Saiteja Mukkamalla in the next to reduce USA to 3/13 in the fourth over with Arshdeep Singh claiming the wicket of captain Monank Patel. Siraj said he was emotional but he stuck to his plans and bowled a tight line. "Obviously, there is emotion. As a player, playing in the World Cup is a different dream. So I just bowled the same line and length that I was bowling in the Ranji Trophy. When we were batting, I felt the new ball wasn’t that easy to hit. So my plan was to stick to the new ball, bowl wicket to wicket, and if I could get a wicket there, it would help the team a lot. That was the plan, and I executed it and got wickets as well. So I’m very happy."
The speedster also said the dressing room was calm despite the wickets falling in a heap as their captain was still at the crease. "It (dressing room) was calm. Surya was batting at the other end, so the dressing room was very calm. He knows this wicket very well because he’s a Mumbai player. He was very calm and said, “I’m here, we’ll move forward. Don’t worry.”
He also praised Suryakumar for playing such an important innings and helping the team win. "Surya plays on instinct. He reads the field and plays accordingly. As you saw, when there were two off-side fielders inside, he played a wide yorker shot because square leg and fine leg were inside. His mind works according to the field. It’s difficult to bluff him because he often succeeds. As a bowler, you have to trust your own plans. But hats off to him for that innings. Even after losing so many wickets early, he stayed calm. This isn’t a bilateral series—it’s a World Cup. It’s very difficult to play such an innings in such a big event."
