Over the last year or so, the rise of Mohammed Siraj has been one of the most inspirational stories of Indian cricket. In his debut Test series just a few days after the death of his father, Siraj played an instrumental role in helping India beat Australia away from home in a historic victory.
Since then, he has become a mainstay of the Indian Test team and also earned a call-up the T20I and ODI side. He was also one of just three players to be retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction.
While Siraj has risen to prominence in the last 12 months, that was not always the case. His maiden appearance for India in both T20I and ODI cricket saw him bowl expensive spells while his performances in IPL also did not impress many. This led to him being subject to a lot of criticism.
Talking in the RCB podcast, Siraj has opened up on the trolling he had to face after a game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). “When I bowled two beamers against KKR in 2018 (2019), I received a lot of criticism. People even told me to leave cricket and ‘go drive auto with your father’. There were so many comments,” said the Indian pacer.
“Tomorrow, when you perform badly, the same people will bring you down. Never take an opinion’. I remember people trolled me so much back then. The same people call me the ‘best bowler’ now. I don’t need to listen to that. I was the same Siraj then and I am the same Siraj now,” said the RCB fast-bowler.
