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The saying, “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown”, is so very true in the case of India pacer Mohammed Siraj. The Hyderabadi had made his international debut (T20Is) in 2017 and since then he has been an important member of Team India across the three formats but the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) officials haven’t found the time to organise a felicitation programme for the 31-year-old pacer.
From the rising of the sun (New Zealand) to the going down of it (England), Siraj has been hailed in all cricketing nations for his exploits on the field. With over 200 international wickets to his credit, Siraj is a phenomenon and his recent show in England has only enhanced his reputation. However, all this has not mattered to the HCA mandarins over the years.
There has been a woeful neglect of Siraj by the HCA officials. “That is one thing that the officials have badly neglected. None of them – in the last five years – showed any inclination to honour him. They are busy fighting to protect their own interests and such things don’t seem to cross their minds,” said a former office-bearer of the HCA.
“A couple of years ago, we had tried to convince the then HCA president to organise a felicitation for Siraj in a grand manner but our pleas fell on deaf ears,” a club secretary told CricBlogger on Thursday.
Why have the HCA officials not given it a thought for so long? Is it because Siraj is a rank-outsider? It has to be remembered that Siraj burst onto the Hyderabad cricket scene from nowhere. He was a nobody and had no credentials at all – no cricket academy, no coach, no club, no cricket shoes including proper gear – literally no one to back him. The only cricket he played, till he was about 20 years of age, was tennis ball cricket on the various grounds in and outside the city.
But when given a chance to play for Charminar Cricket Club in 2014 by its secretary Mohd Mahboob Ahmed, Siraj grabbed the offer with both hands and bowled himself into contention for the Hyderabad team. Ironically, that was the first time that he was bowling with a proper cricket ball.
John Manoj, the then HCA secretary, saw him bowl in the match between MP Colts and Charminar CC. An impressed John took him to president Arshad Ayub. “Arshad asked me who did I bring as he was not convinced by Siraj’s looks but after seeing him bowl in the nets, he too realised that the boy had potential,” John said. Coach Abdul Azeem gave him his first cricket shoes with spikes.
Siraj made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 2015-16 season against Services but it was a forgettable outing as he finished with figures of 0/78 and 1/30 (Yashpal Singh being the victim). He played only one match in that season.
The following season proved to be the turning point of his career. Ayub’s move to rope in former India player Bharat Arun as coach of the Hyderabad Ranji team proved to be a blessing in disguise for Siraj. Under Arun’s tutelage, Siraj took flight and ended the season with 41 wickets from nine games. Siraj’s partnership with Arun would go on to continue with Team India.
There was no looking back as Siraj was roped in by SRH for the IPL and after a season, he moved to RCB where his friendship with former India captain Virat Kohli bloomed. Siraj went on to make his T20Is debut in 2017, ODIs in 2019 and Test debut in 2020.
Despite all this, the HCA officials have given him the cold shoulder. Will they wake up at least now? “Unfortunately, the HCA have no funds now as the accounts have been suspended and even if the officials want to felicitate Siraj now it may not be a grand affair,” a club secretary said with a sigh of despair.
With HCA being almost disbanded, we cant expect felicitation from them. Instead, there are many platforms including Siraj’s employer, the Hyderabad Police led by CV Anand or any such body should take this up. I will be happy if the city autorickshaw drivers association takes it up. But the question is – does he need it? The whole city is there to cheer him up.
Siraj doesn’t need the appreciation ; he earned the hearts of entire country.
The time is written and so is the wait sadly but it will happen for sure .Great things take time and patience is always rewarded duly