Siraj’s midnight call-up turns into match-winning World Cup spell

Mohammed Siraj revealed how a late-night message from Suryakumar Yadav led to a surprise World Cup call-up and a match-winning spell against the USA. Drafted in hours before the game, the pacer delivered under pressure.

Mumbai: India pacer Mohammed Siraj revealed how a late-night message from T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav turned his quiet break after the Ranji Trophy into an unexpected World Cup call-up, culminating in a match-winning performance against the USA on Saturday night.

Siraj had just finished leading Hyderabad in back-to-back Ranji Trophy league games. He was planning a short break since his team failed to qualify for the knockouts. The fast bowler had arranged a trip to Madrid to watch a La Liga match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad. After that, he intended to spend time with his family during Ramzan before the IPL. However, those plans changed suddenly when he received a message from Suryakumar.

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“Miyan bag pack karke aaja’ (pack your bags and come),” Siraj recalled. “I told him not to mess with me. Then he messaged again and said he wasn’t joking and that I had to join the team.”

Siraj quickly packed his bags and joined the Indian squad in Mumbai at 3 am on the opening day of the T20 World Cup. He spent the next few hours studying the opposition, catching some sleep, and preparing for what lay ahead. When he woke up, he found another message waiting for him; he would be playing in India’s XI against the USA.

This call-up came even though Siraj had not played a T20I since July 2024, shortly after India’s last T20 World Cup win. However, when he took the new ball alongside Arshdeep Singh, Siraj showed no signs of being out of practice. He picked up two wickets in his opening spell, reducing the USA to 13 for 3 and helping India secure a 29-run victory while defending 161.

“Almighty changed my destiny in 24 hours,” an emotional Siraj said at the post-match press conference. “I was spending time with my family when Adrian [Le Roux] messaged me to ask what I was up to. I told him, ‘don’t message me right now, I’m resting after playing two four-day games. I need rest.”

Siraj’s inclusion was also aided by circumstances. He was drafted in as a late injury replacement for Harshit Rana, and with Jasprit Bumrah unwell and missing training on the eve of the match, Siraj became the only pace option available to partner Arshdeep if India wanted to field two fast bowlers.

On a two-paced surface, Siraj adjusted quickly after conceding a six off his second delivery. He found the right length outside off to dismiss Andries Gous, who drove uppishly to point, before striking again with his back-of-a-length delivery to remove Saiteja Mukkamalla.

“Since I was coming here after Ranji Trophy, I stuck to similar line and length here,” Siraj explained. “I saw that when we were batting, the new ball wasn’t coming on easily on the bat. So my plan was also to bowl wicket-to-wicket which worked and helped the team. I’m very happy that the execution worked out and I got those wickets.”

Despite being away from the T20I setup for months, Siraj said neither his mindset nor his preparation had changed.

“You have to be mentally ready to play in a World Cup,” he said. “Now I’m also closing in on 10 years since I started playing for India. I have been with the team continuously, and for long enough to know how to prepare in this format, and what kind of mindset to have. So while going to bed at night I told myself to just stick to the things that have worked for me so far, and that’s what I did today.”

Such sudden call-ups are not unfamiliar for Siraj. Earlier in December, he was drafted into Hyderabad’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign despite not having played the tournament in four years. On that occasion, he flew overnight to Kolkata and delivered figures of 4-0-15-1 to restrict Uttar Pradesh to 127 and set up a three-wicket win.