Hyderabad: First Lancer area of Hyderabad, adjacent to the upscale Banjara Hills, normally comes into the news for its poverty and unemployment. Monday, however, gave a cause for celebration in the densely populated area as a local lad made it big on the national cricket scene.
Mohammad Siraj, an uncapped cricket player, was picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for an impressive Rs26 million (Dh1.42 million) at the auction for the Indian Premier League’s 10th edition in Bangalore.
The 22-year-old Siraj, a fast bowler who was playing for Rest of India in the Irani Trophy Match, is the son of an autorickshaw driver Mohammad Ghouse and came up in life the hard way.
Expressing his happiness over his selection by the home side Sunrisers Hyderabad, Siraj hoped that he will now be able to realise his twin-dreams. “First, I would like to see my father taking rest and stop driving auto rickshaw for a living which he has been doing for the last three decades. Second, I would like to buy a new home for my family”, he said.
For a lad from a lower middle class background, the local ground provided the first pitch to test his hand at fast bowling and helped in inching forward and realising his dream. His first major break was playing for Hyderabad and playing a key role in taking the home team to Ranji Trophy quarter-finals for the first time after a gap of five years.
Siraj’s nine-wicket haul against favourite Mumbai created a stir and forced everybody to sit up and take note of the new kid on the block. It was followed up by another stirring performance when he took another nine wickets in inter-state T20 tournament at 6.57 runs a piece.
His 41 wickets haul in a Ranji season this year earned him the place in the Rest of India and India ‘A’ side. Though while laying for the Rest of India, he was not able to take a wicket in the first innings he showed his prowess with the bat when he scored 26 runs at No 11. In the second inning, he took two wickets for 39 runs.
