Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun recently recounted a story about pacer Mohammed Siraj, revealing that he constantly kept requesting for his selection in the Indian senior team, even though he was playing for the India A team. Arun, who served as the bowling coach for Team India under head coach Ravi Shastri, during Virat Kohli’s captaincy, revealed that Siraj had claimed 41 wickets during the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 for Hyderabad, and the pacer still needed a bit of polishing.
Speaking on the Cricbuzz show ‘Rise of New India,’ Arun recalled how Siraj called him up every time he did well in a match, persistently enquiring about his selection in the Indian senior team. Arun advised him to keep performing for India A and impressed during the tours. “Every time he bowled a good spell, I thought he did an exceptional job while playing for India A. One such call I remember, Ravi Shastri asked me and was like ‘Kaun hai yeh? (Who is he?)’,” said Arun.
Arun further added that Siraj’s confidence impressed Shastri, who told him, “you have to give him credit for his confidence. Someone who has the belief to call me and ask me ‘When are you calling me? That’s confidence.”
In the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy, Siraj is part of the Indian team, which has already retained the BGT with an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the four-match series. The 28-year-old pacer picked one wicket in Australia’s first innings of the series opener in Nagpur.
