ABD’s “Miyan Magic” Adds New Folklore.
Not long ago, Mohammed Siraj revealed that he was asked to leave cricket (and drive auto with his father), when he ran through in one of his worst IPL seasons in 2019, forcing him to think about his career before MS Dhoni eventually came in to rescue him. (To RCB podcast).
It was the home game against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019
where Siraj became the culprit in the eyes of trollers and abusers who were
dashing for one disastrous outing of a young boy, who was already in the lure
of charisma of professional cricket at the highest level.
Siraj rock-and-rolled the game from the stage where he could
have potentially escaped from the heat of the ever-passionate RCB and Virat
Kohli fans as he gifted two beamers to the dangerous Andre Russell following which
the West Indian all-rounder buckled up the encounter single-handedly.
Escapism wasn’t in the cards. Trolls happened. Online abuses.
Family abuses. Religious abuses. Everything came around in just 1 hell of an
over.
But there is a talk that “life always comes full circle.”
This was the next IPL season, a delayed one due to covid pandemic and it
happened in UAE. The opposition was once again, SRK-owned KKR. But this was the
beginning of something new.
Mohammed Siraj ran through the Knight Riders’ top order. This
time he created havoc as he returned with the astounding figures of 4-2-8-3. This
was the by-product of Hyderabad boy’s perseverance, belief, and will to
overcome all the challenges.
This match wrote the new chapter in Siraj’s inspirational
tale of touching the summit of professional cricket. After this heroic
performance against the two-time IPL champions, he was given the name “Miyan
Magic” by the magic man himself; AB de Villiers.
In the initial stages of his career, after his former RCB and
Indian team skipper Virat Kohli, South African legend AB de Villiers is the man
who always had back on Siraj’s unlimited potential. The push he got from these
two while in the RCB camp boosted his self-esteem and his passion for
representing his nation to the highest level.
But Siraj’s dreams had a wing too. In his yesteryears, he
grew up in a humble background with his father being the auto-rickshaw driver
and was sole bread-bearer of the whole family. His mother wasn’t too convinced
of his cricketing dream but his father saw a dream- Siraj to play test cricket
for India.
That was the motive he had etched in his heart from the start
of his career. Although this dream was as distant for Siraj as was near for
him. He got his maiden test match, and that too when there were high stakes as
India was coming following an embarrassing 36-run all-out defeat against
Australia at the Adelaide.
Siraj was called to play the historic Boxing Day test in Melbourne but in contrast to what he envisaged, his father wasn’t there to see this proud moment of seeing his son making his test debut for India.
A few days prior to his debut only, while he was in Australia
in a strict bio-bubble he got to know about his father’s demise and there were
two situations that he had to face back then. Going back to his hometown and
attending his father’s last rites or staying with the team and completing his
late father’s last wish, a test debut for India.
He fulfilled a son’s role though, but not by going back to India instead by accomplishing his father’s grandest dream of seeing him in white Indian colors. He stayed back and further went on to represent India in all 3 matches that followed that disconcerting Adelaide turmoil.
Not only did he represent the nation in those tough times, but also took guard as the lead pacer when every other bowler succumbed to injuries and was ruled out from the unforgettable series. In fact in the series decider 4th test match at Australia’s cricket fortress Gabba, he was the most experienced bowler in the Indian camp with two match practices.
This was the difference he created with his inclusion in the
squad and also this match was the one where his father from heaven would have teared
up after watching his magical spell in the 2nd innings. Siraj had a maiden
test five-for in his kitty.
The man of the moment had tears for his nation, for his hard work,
for his family, and most importantly for “his father.” He promised to never
look back again and he just followed that path with unrivalled passion,
dedication, and hard-work he generated.
He went on to sush the opposition batters with his fearsome display of bowling artistry in their backyard. He has produced some amazing numbers in SENA countries and over time he has introduced some more arrows from his quiver.
The outswing, as he had said was lost earlier and that resulted
in him relying on nip-backers and back-of-a-length deliveries for scalping
wickets but consistently working on the art paved the way for re-establishment of
the variation.
With that, he just became the bearer of the steep decline of
the Sri Lankan team in the Asia Cup final with the humble boy from Hyderabad
claiming one of the best figures (6/21) by any Indian pacer after Stuart Binny
(6/4) and Jasprit Bumrah (6/19).
The weapon he shined for the auspicious moment was the out-swinger
which granted him the magical dismissal of opposition skipper Dasun Shanaka
where the all-rounder was bamboozled by the swing, pitch, and most importantly
Siraj’s fingers offered.
Surely, the Asia Cup finale has set up a platform for the boy
who had dreamt of playing for the nation with his father but didn’t have the privilege
to showcase his bowling prowess to his dearest one.
Now, as he has added new folklore to his “Miyan Magic” tale,
the bigger picture is yet to be made with the Cricket’s largest extravaganza
looming ahead for him where few more magics can create up a new documentary as
a whole.
Strikingly, the Ronaldo fandom may get the new and one of the
brightest stars who just like his idol possess a new energy and magic in the field.
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