Mohammed Siraj's dream has finally come true as the rookie pacer from Hyderabad has been handed his first cap against New Zealand in the 2nd T20I match of the series in Rajkot.
The 23-year-old grew up in a family of four living in a single bedroom apartment in Hyderabad. Siraj’s father was an autorickshaw driver while his mother is a housewife.
The youngster did not start playing with a cricket ball until the age of 20 when he enrolled in Charminar Cricket Club. He made his Ranji debut for Hyderabad back in 2015 but had a horrible start as he took 1 for 108.
But he picked himself and had an impressed in the 2016-17 season, finishing the third wicket-tacket list in Ranji Trophy and joint eight in Inter-State Twenty20 tournament.
After his impressive run in domestic cricket, the son of autorickshaw driver was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017 IPL auction for whopping Rs 2.6 crore. The pacer took 10 wickets in 6 IPL games, including a Player of the Match winning 4 for 32 against Gujarat Lions.
Prior to his national team selection, Siraj was selected for India A in July 2017 where he took 3 for 49 against Afghanistan A in August and 2 for 27 against New Zealand A in October.
Now he is playing in his first game for Team India against the No.1 ranked T20 side in the world. Its safe to say the young lad has come a long way.