Mohammed Siraj during his younger days
Mohammed Siraj became the talk of the town after his heroics against England in the five-match Test series. The pacer showed a lot of heart and was the only pacer who survived all the five Test matches completely.
The repercussions of that inspired performance from Mohammed Siraj can be seen even in Hyderabad now. Mahboob Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj's coach in his early days, has been getting congratulatory calls from everywhere after his pupil's success. He is the secretary of Charminar CC and it was a club for which Mohammed Siraj played leather-ball cricket for the first time.
How Mahbood Ahmed helped financially weak Mohammed Siraj?
Mahboob Ahmed recalls how a financially weak Mohammed Siraj walked into his life during the 2013-14 season. He recalled that Siraj was short of even proper footwear, and it was Mahboob Ahmed who gave him shoes and used to pay him 1500 rupees per match for travel and food.
“He didn’t even have proper shoes. I gave him footwear and used to pay him ₹1,500 per match for travel and food."
He added that Siraj picked up a five-wicket haul in his first-ever season and went on to get 28 wickets in the season, which helped Charminar CC get promotion from B division to A. Mohammed Siraj then got a 10-wicket haul in 2015 against Sporting CC, which helped him get into the Ranji Trophy, but he had a major hiccup when he was suspended. The suspension came because Siraj bunked the state association-organised medical camp, and it was Mahboob Ahmed who pleaded to HCA officials for his inclusion.
Virat Kohli's link in building Siraj's discipline
Along with the help of parents, Mahboob Ahmed then helped Siraj get more disciplined. However, the coach himself recalls that it was during the IPL days with RCB and Virat Kohli, that Siraj got more disciplined. Mahboob stated that Virat Kohli always wanted Mohammed Siraj to bowl at him in the nets and it really helped the Hyderabad pacer in getting more natured and disciplined.
"That 10-wicket haul against Sporting CC got him into the Ranji side. He bunked a state association-organised medical camp and was suspended. I had to plead with HCA officials and also sat with his parents to make him understand discipline. After that, his parents and I personally ensured he reported for practice every morning. Virat always wanted him to bowl at him in the nets. That shaped him a lot.”
Thus, Mahboob Ahmed and even Virat Kohli have helped Siraj grow into the cricketer he is now. Siraj would be hoping that he makes all the people who helped and trusted him in the past even prouder with his unbeatable spirit and world-class skills.
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