My hands would burn while flipping roti’: Mohammed Siraj recalls thoughts of giving up cricket

Siraj, who made his international debut in 2017, burst into the scene after the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he led the Indian pace attack in the Brisbane Test in the absence of senior pacers.

The Hyderabad pacer worked on his game after the initial rough patch in IPL and international cricket and has now become an integral part of the Indian team across formats.

Siraj, who turned 30 years old on Wednesday, revealed that during the tough phase, he decided to give himself one year to work on himself. He decided to give the game one last shot and it worked in his favour and there’s been no stopping for him after that.

“In 2019-20, I had thought I am giving myself this last year and after that, I will leave the game for good. Whenever I go to Hyderabad, my first thought is that I will go home. After home, I will go to Eidgah. Wherever in the world I go, I don’t get so much peace anywhere, to be honest. Whenever I go there, I get so much peace,” said Siraj in a video shared by BCCI on his birthday.

Siraj came from a humble background as his father was an autorickshaw driver as the 30-year-old pacer recalled doing some part-time jobs to support his family. He credited his father for his success in life.

“I used to go to do a catering job. My family members used to say that son, please study. I liked playing cricket very much because we used to live on rent also. My dad was the only earning member in the house. If I got a hundred or two hundred rupees, I was happy with it. I used to give 100 or 150 rupees at home and keep 50 for myself. My hands would burn as I had to flip roomali roti. But that’s ok. I have reached here after having my fair share of struggles,” recounted the determined pacer.