Hyderabad auto driver’s son Mohammed Siraj traverses from rags to riches when Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for rs 2.6 crore in the IPL auction. While senior cricketers like Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara does not find any takers at the IPL 2017 auction, Mohammed Siraj surprised everyone by bagging a deal of Rs 2.60 crore.
"For 20 seconds, I remained speechless. Then, I got up from my chair to hug my mother with the great news that I hit a jackpot in the auction. Everybody was thrilled and amazed", an excited Siraj said
"I want my father to stop driving the auto," Siraj said. His father has a different stance, "I will drive the auto as long as I have the strength. Why should I depend on sons?" said Mohammed Ghouse.
"Today, I remember my first income playing cricket. It was a club match and my maternal uncle was the captain of the team. I got 9 wickets for 20 odd runs in that 25 over game. My uncle was so happy he gave me Rs 500 as a prize. It was a great feeling. But today when the bid was raised to Rs 2.6 crore, I just went numb," Siraj said during an interaction.
"Mere walid saab (Father) ne bahot mehnat ki hain (My father has slogged). He drove auto all these years but never let financial pressure of the family affect me or my elder brother. A bowling spikes costs a lot and he would just get the best for me. I want to buy a house for them now in a good locality," an emotional Siraj said.
"My parents have seen hard days. Today my elder brother is a software engineer in a reputed IT firm. I didn't have interest in studies and my mother would bash me up giving my elder brother's example. But today she's on top of the world," said Siraj.
"Since I started from tennis ball cricket, I am self taught. I had pace but tennis ball cricket teaches you to bowl in blockholes. Then I played Hyderabad U22, Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare and then Ranji Trophy followed by India A. I have taken one step at a time. Next is IPL followed by senior national team," said Siraj.
"As a youngster, I would like to learn everything I can. Laxman sir is there and I would get a chance to interact with a player of David Warner's stature," Siraj added.
By Premji
