Mohammed Siraj

Known for his lethal seam movement up front and his knack of picking up wickets with new ball, 30-year-old Mohammed Siraj is an Indian right-arm fast bowler. Siraj was born on March 13, 1994, in Hyderabad and for someone self-taught, his rise in the Indian cricket arena has been remarkably swift.

Siraj’s remarkable improvisation on the international stage came to the fore in Test cricket as he had a stellar year in 2021, and in the Indian Premier League for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as well under the leadership of Virat Kohli, after having a poor start to his international career. Following his consistent performances over the years, Siraj has been a welcome mainstay in the Indian setup across formats.

Mohammed Siraj: Along the Years

Mohammed Siraj Records

• Bowled the fastest ball bowled by an Indian in ODIs at 156 km/h

• First Indian to take four wickets in a single over

• Joint-fastest five-wicket haul in ODIs in just 16 deliveries

• Second bowler to take a six-wicket haul in Asia Cup history

• Fourth-best figures by an Indian in ODIs

• Second-quickest to 50 ODI wickets 

• First Indian to take a six-wicket haul within the first session of a Test match

Mohammed Siraj Career

Mohammed Siraj is the son of an auto-rickshaw driver and his childhood was full of hardships due to his family's low income. He never went to a cricket academy or had a coach. Smitten by cricket, he used to play street cricket with a tennis ball and often bunked classes to play.

Siraj’s rise as India’s frontline pacer has reaped both his and the team's accolades as he has destroyed the opponents by wreaking havoc with his unplayable and fiery spells, especially in Tests and ODIs.

Mohammed Siraj Domestic Career

Mohammed Siraj went to the nets at the Charminar Cricket Club on a friend's invitation and impressed everyone in 2015. He took five wickets in a match and soon his hard work paid dividends as he was named as a probable in the state's U-23 side.

He then played for the senior zonal side and continued working hard. Siraj made his first-class debut for Hyderabad on 15 November 2015 in the Ranji Trophy and played only one game. Siraj played only one game in his debut first-class season and had to wait to get more opportunities.

In the 2016 Ranji Trophy, he performed exceedingly well as Hyderabad made the quarter-finals. Siraj ended up being the highest wicket-taker for Hyderabad and the third leading wicket-taker of the 2016 Ranji Trophy, taking 41 wickets in nine matches at an impressive average of 18.92. He was then picked to play for the Rest of India team and good performances resulted in him being included in the India A squad to tour South Africa in July 2017.

In February 2018, he was the leading wicket-taker in the 2017–18 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 23 dismissals in seven matches. In October 2018, he was named to India A's squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. In October 2019, he was named to India B's squad for the 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy. In 36 first-class matches, Siraj has taken 147 wickets at an average of 23.00
Also, he has taken 81 wickets at 23.37 in 41 List A matches. In the T20 format, he has taken 79 wickets in 58 matches at an average of 22.54 with an economy of 8.44. In the summer of 2022, Siraj signed up with English County, Warwickshire, for a short stint. He went on to play just 1 championship game, where he took 6 wickets (against Somerset).

Mohammed Siraj IPL Career

The amazing performances in the Ranji Trophy resulted in him being roped by Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping Rs. 2.6 crore which was 13 times his base price. In the 2017 IPL, he played six matches and picked 10 wickets at an average of 21.2, with the best performance of 4/32.

A deceptive slower ball and a natural in-swinger make him an effective limited-overs bowler. After being released by SRH, the Royal Challengers Bangalore think-tank saw enough potential in the youngster and bought him at the IPL 2018 Player Auction for INR 2.20 cr.

He played 11 matches that season and took 11 wickets. The 2019 season was a bit dull for him and he will be hoping to make a comeback in the 2020 season.

Despite his poor returns in the 2019 season, Siraj was retained by RCB in the 2020 mini-auction. He repaid the faith as he thrived in the helpful UAE conditions. In 9 games, the pace spearhead claimed 11 wickets @ 21.45/8.68.

Siraj dished out another decent season in 2021- 11 wickets in 15 games @ 32.09/6.78- and was eventually retained by RCB alongside Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell for a whopping INR 7 crores ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction.

However, the Hyderabad cricketer had a season to forget as he could only manage 9 wickets in 15 innings at 57.11 apiece while conceding 10.08 runs per over. Siraj returned to form in IPL 2023, picking up 19 wickets at an economy of 7.52, and is playing for RCB in IPL 2024. 

Mohammed Siraj International Career

Mohammed Siraj debuted for the Indian cricket team in a T20I against New Zealand on November 4, 2017. From starting his career on a poor note by leaking runs to becoming one of India’s trusted frontline pacers, Siraj has worked hard on his skillset and is reaping the rewards for his team presently.

Mohammed Siraj ODI Career

In December 2018, Mohammed Siraj was named in India's ODI squad for their series against Australia. He made his ODI debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 15 January 2019. He couldn't pick any wicket in the match but India won the match by 6 wickets, courtesy of a stellar Virat Kohli century.

After spending 3 long years in the wilderness, Siraj returned to the ODI set-up in February 2022 during a home series against the West Indies. With his ability to generate sharp movement in the air and off the surface coupled with his pinpoint yorker, Siraj has given quite a decent impression of himself as an ODI bowler.

In 12 games that he has played in 2022, Siraj has claimed 18 wickets at 24/4.45, and the right-arm seamer was recently adjudged 'Player of the Series' for his breathtaking spells - both in powerplay and at the death- against South Africa.

Siraj had a fantastic year with the ball in ODIs, picking up 44 wickets in the 25 ODIs he played in 2023. He breathed fire against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final, picking up the joint-fastest five-wicket haul in ODIs in just 16 deliveries. Siraj was also picked for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and took 14 wickets in 11 matches. He was named in the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year 2022 as well as 2023.

Mohammed Siraj Test Career

Mohammed Siraj earned his maiden Test call-up in late 2020 for India's tour of Australia after senior pacer Ishant Sharma got ruled out due to injury. But, as he landed in Australia in November, tragedy struck home as the right-arm seamer lost his father.

However, Siraj decided to stay back with the squad, and eventually made his debut during the Boxing Day Test after Mohammed Shami got ruled out due to a fracture in his bowling hand. Siraj made an immediate impression as he claimed 5 wickets in two innings as India won the match by 8 wickets.

His biggest test came in just his 3rd game at the Gabba when he was asked to lead the bowling attack after the quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja joined the ever-growing injury list.

But, Siraj rose to the occasion big time as he claimed his maiden five-wicket-haul in Australia's 2nd innings to set up a historic series win for Team India. Siraj finished the series with 13 scalps in 3 games, and just like that, a star was born. His next impressive performance came during the final day of the Lord's Test in August 2021 as he knocked over 4 batters, including Jos Buttler and No.11 James Anderson to seal a 151-run win for the Virat Kohli-led outfit.

Siraj's Test returns since Lord's have been middling. While he fared decently at home, the right-arm seamer struggled for control with the soft Dukes ball during the 2022 Edgbaston Test against England and was clobbered by the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, while his South African sojourn in the 2021-22 series ended midway through the second Test in Johannesburg, after he picked up a hamstring injury. Siraj was named in the World Test Championship final 2023 and picked up 5 wickets in the match. However, Siraj ripped apart the South African batting lineup in their Test series against the Proteas in 2023-24, as he picked up a six-wicket haul and became the first Indian to pick up six wickets within the first session of a match.

Mohammed Siraj T20I Career

After impressive performances in domestic cricket, Siraj was included in India's T20I squad to play against New Zealand. He made his T20I debut against New Zealand in November 2017 and took his maiden T20I wicket with Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson. He ended up with figures of 4-0-1-53. Since then, he has played only two more T20Is and taken two more wickets.

Following his decent exploits in the 2020 and 2021 IPL in UAE conditions, Siraj earned a recall to the T20I set-up in November 2021 during a home series against the same opposition he'd made his debut all those years ago- New Zealand.

He conceded 39 runs and claimed 1 wicket, but with other seamers ahead of him in the pecking order, Siraj could add just 1 more cap to his tally- vs Sri Lanka- before the 2022 IPL. A poor IPL season meant he slipped further in the pecking order, and it was only because of injuries to Jasprit Bumrah and the unavailability of Mohammed Shami that Siraj was integrated back into the set-up- against South Africa in October 2022.

Siraj was one of the contenders to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup 2022 squad but was ultimately pipped by Mohammed Shami. However, with Mohammed Shami sidelined from the T20 World Cup selection due to a heel injury, Siraj is a frontrunner to be part of the T20 World Cup.

Mohammed Siraj Family

Mohammed Siraj’s family was not financially well-off; his father used to drive an auto-rickshaw in Hyderabad. He started playing cricket as a batsman but later developed into a bowler. It was his elder brother who pushed him into professional cricket.

A self-made cricketer, Mohammed Siraj hails from a financially-crippled family. His father was an auto-rickshaw puller in Hyderabad and his mother, was a housewife. Interestingly, Siraj started as a batsman, but later developed into a bowler after his gully cricket friends' praised his bowling skills. It was Siraj's elder brother who pushed him to take up cricket as a profession. Siraj lost his father in November 2020 due to cardiac arrest.

Mohammed Siraj's Net Worth

As of 2024, Mohammed Siraj has an estimated net worth of INR 57 crores or USD 7 million.

Mohammed Siraj House

Mohammed Siraj owns a luxurious house in Filmi Nagar, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

Mohammed Siraj Cars

Mohammed Siraj owns four expensive cars, including a BMW sedan, a Mercedes Benz, a Toyota Corolla, and a Mahindra Thar.