Auto rickshaw driver's son to playing for India: The journey of Mohammed Siraj

Hyderabad fast bowler Mohammed Siraj followed his heart to enter the cricketing profession despite the fact that his family had a financially weak background. His father drove auto-rickshaw for a living and only managed to provide Siraj with the basic necessities of life.

The 23-year-old started playing tennis ball cricket in class seven when he would have been a boy of 12 with his friends. He picked up the leather ball for the first time in 2015. Two years later, in 2017, he bagged an IPL contract worth INR 2.6 crore from the Sunrisers Hyderabad to end the financial problems of his family. He earned more than ten times his base price that was INR 20 lakhs. Siraj did not expect an amount like 2.6 crores and was amused after the IPL auction last year.

Sturdy and athletic, the cricketer has a deceptive run-up. He is a right-arm bowler and is a natural at getting the ball to swing into the right-hander. He has always been able to bowl a pretty quick bouncer though, something that had impressed his captain David Warner and team mentor VVS Laxman in the Hyderabad set-up.

2.6 crores again

Siraj constantly received the backing of the SRH skipper Warner throughout the 2017 season of the IPL. He had a successful stint which prompted the national selectors to pick him in the Indian T20I side. The pacer scalped 10 wickets in 6 IPL games in 2017.

He soon donned the Indian jersey for the first time against New Zealand in 2017, his debut was a game to forget for the young man as he ended up conceding more than 50 runs in his spell. Siraj returned to the IPL 2018 auction with a base price tag of INR 1 crore, being a capped player and yet again grabbed an identical INR 2.6 crore deal – this time from Royal Challengers Bangalore.