Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj's consistent performance in the one-day international series against New Zealand has been rewarded. The Hyderabadi fast bowler has risen to the top of the ICC ODI bowling rankings for the first time.
Siraj, who was rested for the 3rd ODI against New Zealand played in Indore on Tuesday, has enjoyed a great start to 2023 and has already picked 14 wickets in five outings this year. The 28-year-old pacer is known for taking wickets in the initial few overs (powerplay) and is a regular in India's ODI squads now.
The speedster rose to fame in 2017 when he bagged an IPL contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) worth Rs 2.6 crores. In the same year, Siraj made his international debut as he got to play a T20I match against New Zealand in Rajkot.
Since making his international debut, Siraj has played 8 T20Is, 15 Tests, and 21 ODIs. The Hyderabad-based bowler has picked 46 Test wickets, 38 ODI wickets, and 11 T20I scalps.
Siraj, who now plays for IPL outfit Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), attributed his recent success to his failure in the previous season of the IPL. In the 2022 season of the IPL, Siraj managed to pick only 9 wickets in 15 matches.
"When the IPL season went bad for me, I started focussing on white-ball cricket. I worked on it and grew in confidence. I stopped worrying about how my performance would go which was not the case earlier. I started focussing only on execution of line and length." Siraj said after bowling a spell of 4/32 against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram.
Siraj's ability to bowl fast bouncers left an impression on his former SRH captain David Warner and the then-team mentor VVS Laxman.
Siraj will be next seen in action during the forthcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy as he is part of India's 17-man Test squad for the first two matches.
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