Ah, the quintessential Hyderabadi cricketer: all that style, that swagger, that pizzazz, those upturned collars and that walk.
With his straightened hair, somewhat brutish expression, self-effacing gait and awkward toothy smile, Mohammed Siraj does not feature as the next in line to Hyderabad’s panache-laden lineage. But, he fits into the category of substance over style.
See, style is but an accoutrement to even the likes of ML Jaisimha, Mohammed Azharuddin and VVS Laxman. Substance is what got them places. Siraj has that in abundance and is going places.
Maybe not to the West Indies for the ODI series or the upcoming Ireland tour because the Board of Control for Cricket in India thought it prudent to rest him as of Thursday, but the workload-management move is because he is the future.
While the anointment sounds a bit out of place when the bowler in question is 29-year-old and only started bowling with a leather ball in 2015, Siraj inspires talks of being the future for he has something Indian cricketers are often guilty of not having: heart.
If it wasn’t for that - and of course talent, an ability to learn, his athleticism and passion - the son of an autorickshaw driver would not have taken a fifer on a dead track against the West Indies a few days ago.
The pitch at Queen’s Park Oval was so docile even the lacklustre West Indian batting unit started to feel a million bucks. That was only until Siraj's versatility and all those years of working on variations dismantled them. He finished with figures of 5 for 60 from 142 unforgiving deliveries in the first innings.
Sure, the Test ended in a draw, and another trophy was picked up on a 1-0 series win, but Siraj bagged his first player of the match honour. Not bad for someone who has played second-fiddle since his Test debut in Australia in 2020.
Even there, under the spotlight of the Gabbatoir, he showed an undying spirit. It was shadowed by the fact that everyone else showed it too as a second-string Indian side ate Australia’s heart in an eight-wicket win. In isolation, though, Siraj has something to behold. That’s probably why the likes of Virat Kohli (for Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Rohit (for India) can’t get enough of him.
“He’s a rhythm bowler and he has a fantastic natural rhythm,” says Madan Lal, the World Cup-winning Indian medium pacer. “He’s the kind of bowler who can’t bowl slow because his rhythm will be lost. He has to keep running in hard and hitting the deck hard. And by gods grace, he has the fitness to do that.
“But mostly about him, it’s all heart. He has so much passion and energy. Fast bowling is all about that. You can’t be a great fast bowler without that heart to push and push and push. It’s about taking that step even when you feel like you don’t have it in you, that’s what gets you wickets on flat tracks. He has such a strong mind and conviction that he can be good anywhere.”
Another factor Lal highlights is Siraj’s ability to learn, and quickly so. “He is also a learning bowler. When he started, he used to bowl a lot of deliveries down the leg side but now he’s got his line and length spot on. He has also added an outswinger to his game. He’s very potent now and he’s only going to get better because he’s still learning. He’s humble and listens to people.”
These traits could explain how he wriggled out of the red-ball-only narrative in a matter of a couple of years. Siraj was guilty of being far too wayward in limited-overs cricket while his abilities as a red-ball bowler were already in full show.
Fast forward to now, he has 43 wickets from 24 ODIs, and 11 scalps from eight T20Is. Numbers suggest he still isn’t finished product as far as white-ball cricket is concerned, but his sprightly upward trajectory means he is on his way to becoming India’s primary frontline option if he isn’t already. Style be damned.