Fast-rising pacer Mohammed Siraj is ready to put in the hard yards and make full use of the opportunities that will help him realise a long-cherished dream of becoming India’s highest wicket-taker.
The 27-year-old has played five Tests, one ODI and three T20Is for India so far after making his debut in the shortest format against New Zealand in November, 2017.
Siraj, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, said he wants to play all the three formats and credited his success to fellow pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma.
A key pacer for RCB, Siraj, who has captured 39 wickets in 35 IPL matches, said he was low on confidence when he first joined the squad but a good performance against KKR lifted his spirits.
“Last year, when I joined RCB, I was low on confidence. But when I started bowling with the new ball, I was also bowling on a single wicket, which helped me a lot,” Siraj said in a video posted by RCB on its official Twitter handle.
“And then the performance against KKR gave me a lot of confidence. The team culture here is so nice that everyone used to get together and discuss stuff like Virat does.”
Siraj said he will look to continue his aggressive bowling after getting a good feedback from RCB’s batting consultant Sanjay Bangar.
Siraj has been on an impressive run since making his Test debut in Australia last December.
It was an emotional tour for Siraj as he had lost his father while undergoing quarantine in Australia.
“During Australia tour, I was in quarantine and when we came back from practice, I got to know my father passed away. Unfortunately, no one could come to my room,” Siraj said. “I called home and my fiance, mother were very supportive and they told me that I need to fulfill my father’s dream of seeing me play for India.”