Siraj thanks Bumrah for brotherly support; reveals favorite scalp from Aus series

One among the many great stories for Team India this Australian summer, Mohammed Siraj has thanked another Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah for guiding him throughout his debut series. The Hyderabad born said that Bumrah was the senior-most bowler in the team after injuries to Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, and he was always up with advice or two whenever the 26-year-old needed.

“Our main bowler was Bumrah Bhai and he sussed to support me from the other end in both the matches that we played together. Ball to Ball, he would tell me not to try too many things and try and hit the same spot,’ Siraj told the media in a press conference.

Recounting one incident from the fourth Test where Bumrah was not playing and still helped Siraj, he said, “One of my spell had gone bad in the fourth Test, Bumrah Bhai saw me tensed and said, “Jyada soch mat re, jo kharab ho gaya wo gaya, ab agle spell ke baare me dekh (Don’t repent much about the last spell, it’s over now, focus on the next one).”

Siraj, who had lost his father just at the start of the tour chose to stay in Australia and played the Test series, bagging 13 wickets in three matches. Today, he paid tributes to his late father and dedicated all his wickets to him.

Siraj also told the media that Marnus Labuschagne’s wicket in the third innings of the Gabba Test was his favourite wicket where he got both Labuschagne and Matthew Wade in the same over which changed the context of the game.

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Siraj thanks Kohli, says RCB backing helped regain his confidence

Indian speedster and one of those players who did well for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020, Mohammed Siraj has thanked the team management and skipper Virat Kohli for standing by him and helping him regain confidence after a tattered last season. In an interaction with the media after a successful Australia tour with the Indian Test team, Siraj was asked if he rates himself as a better Red ball bowler, he replied, “At the time of my white-ball debut, I took a lot of pressure and wasn’t really able to deal with it.” Further, the 26-year-old thanked Indian skipper Kohli and RCB, saying, “I used to get nervous. But the amount of backing I got from RCB and the trust that Virat Bhai showed after a dismal season in 2018, it really helped me gain my confidence back. They also retained me which was a booster for me personally.” Talking especially about Kohli, he said, “Virat bhai always tells me, “Tu kar sakta hai, tujhme wo baat hai (You can do it, you have it in you to achieve greater things)”, and that really helped me. This year I just remembered his words and worked on my skills so I am very grateful to him for his support.” In the last year's IPL, Siraj was on fire especially in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders when he picked up 3/8 in his impressive spell. In total he took 11 wickets in nine games with an economy rate of 8.68, which has been his lowest in the four seasons that he has played so far in the competition. RCB have named Siraj among the 12 retainers for this season as well, rewarding him for a great last season.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz becomes first Afghanistan batsman to hit century on ODI debut

Rahmanullah Gurbaz registered his name in the history book of Afghanistan cricket by becoming the first batsman to hit a century on his ODI debut. The wicketkeeper-batsman was opening the innings for his country and started his ODI career with a big six over square leg in the first match of the three-match ODI series against Ireland in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He finished on run a ball 127 filled with 8 fours and nine sixes that steered Afghanistan to a good total before Rashid Khan took the game to the Irish camp and led the team to a formidable total of 287 in 50 overs. He also rose to two more records on his way to a superlative century as he beat India’s Navjot Singh Sidhu for hitting a maximum number of sixes on his ODI debut. He also came second to only Desmond Haynes for scoring the highest score by a debutant batsman who had scored 148 against Australia in Antigua in 1978.

Siraj praises skipper Rahane in racism row, says he was adamant at not leaving the pitch

Indian pace bowler Mohammed Siraj has praised the interim captain of the Indian team Ajinkya Rahane for firmly standing beside his players in the racism row which occurred in the third Test at Sydney. Talking to the Press on his comeback to India after a successful tour of Australia, Siraj said, “Rahane was adamant that we (Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah and the entire Indian team) would not leave the ground no matters what.” “He said we respect cricket and just for a few people’s misbehaviour we can’t leave the ground, He then asked the umpires to get those creating the ruckus, out of the ground,” Siraj added detailing the sequence of events. Siraj, 26, took 13 wickets including a five-wicket haul in the three games on this tour, and was one of the leading stars that emerged out of the tournament. His five-wicket haul came in the record-breaking win for Team India at Gabba in the second innings of Australia. India won the Gabba Test by three wickets and won the series 2-1 to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy second time in a row.

IPL 2021: Alex Carey smacks century day after DC release him

Australia limited-overs wicket-keeper and an integral part of the Adelaide Strikers franchise in the Big Bash League, Alex Carey has been quite sensational in the tournament so far holding fort when his fellow batsmen have fallen around him. He is currently the third highest run-getter in the tournament so far with 381 runs and has been integral behind their successful tenure in the tourney so far. Carey struck a magical century against Brisbane Heat on Thursday, 21 January, and his knock of 101 of a mere 62 deliveries, with 10 fours and 3 sixes led the Strikers to a comfortable win by 82 runs. With the sort of form he has been in with both bat and the gloves, Carey was expected to be retained by his IPL franchise, Delhi Capitals. It must be noted here that the DC squad has a very settled unit and Carey didn’t get enough opportunities in the previous season. He scored 32 runs in just 3 matches and it is understandable that the Capitals didn't want to retain him for Rs 2.4 crores. Having said that the southpaw has been in good touch since the IPL and hence it was a surprise to many that he was let go by the Capitals. However, former Aussie skipper and Delhi Capitals head coach, Ricky Ponting is of the opinion that DC might buy him back in the auctions.