Mohammed Siraj Reveals a Conversation That Changed His Life Aside Down

image-lf6o4lflMohammed Siraj with Jasprit Bumrah [Source: Twitter]

Ever since making his debut in 2021 Down Under, Mohammed Siraj has grown by leaps and bounds. Siraj, currently ruling the ICC Rankings for Bowlers in ODI cricket, has already seen his fair share of highs and lows in international and domestic cricket.

In a recent podcast with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Siraj opened up about his tough times and how Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah helped him. 

Siraj revealed that Bumrah asked the bowler to keep bowling and learn how to be one step ahead of the batter. 

With Bumrah's unavailability, the 29-year-old spearheaded India's bowling in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, however, the lack of wickets forced the management to rope in Mohammed Shami for the fourth and final Test.

Here's what Siraj said

“I called Jassi bhai (Jasprit Bumrah) and told him what was happening to me. What can I do better? He told me performance is not in your hands. You only have the ball and you can just bowl. Just think of your last season and evaluate. 

"How batters are playing against you? You watch the videos of a batsman and see how he plays you. You have to be a step ahead of them. That’s when we will have success. We cannot rely on past glories alone. You watch videos but learn to stay ahead of the batsman. How you prepare yourself ahead of the match is important.”

The Hyderabad-born also spoke at length about competition within the Indian team and how it eggs players to perform better every time they step on the ground. 

Siraj will once again be back in action for the ODIs, which begin March 17 in Mumbai.