Mohammed Siraj asked me ‘Sir when will I get a chance’, reveals Bharat Arun

Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun recently opened up on an interesting story about Mohammed Siraj. Arun revealed that the Indian pacer kept persisting about his selection even though he was already playing for India A team. Siraj always wanted himself to get picked for the Indian senior team.

Arun was the bowling coach of Team India when Ravi Shastri was the head coach. Meanwhile, the team was captained by Virat Kohli which went on to achieve great heights.

Arun recalled how Siraj had claimed 41 wickets during Ranji Trophy 2016-17 for Hyderabad. The former bowling coach also felt that the pacer still needed a bit of finishing.

“Subsequently after doing well for Hyderabad, I went and joined the Indian team while Siraj played India A. And every time he did well in a match, he would call me and say ‘Sir, when are you calling me?’," revealed Arun while Speaking on Cricbuzz show, ‘Rise of New India’.

"I asked ‘Where?’ and he would go ‘In the Indian team sir. When will I get a chance?’ I said ‘Pick more wickets and once you impress in India A tour, you will be there,'" he added.

“Every time he bowled a good spell, I thought he did an exceptional job while playing for India A. One such call I remember; Ravi Shastri asked me and was like ‘Kaun hai yeh? (Who is he?),'" Arun said.

“I said ‘Siraj… this is the background and he is calling me to ask when he would be part of this Indian team. One thing Ravi told me was ‘you have to give him credit for his confidence’. Someone who has the belief to call me and ask me ‘When are you calling me? That’s confidence,'” he concluded.

Mohammed Siraj is now taking part in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy. The 28-year-old pacer only picked one wicket in Australia’s first innings of the series opener in Nagpur. The Men in Blue already have an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the four-match series and retained the BGT.