Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Watch: Sridhar and Siraj in a pucca Hyderabadi chat at Melbourne

By N Jagannath Das

Published: Updated On - 07:03 PM, Sun - 27 December 20

R Sridhar interviewing Mohammed Siraj. (Screenshot from BCCI TV) The typical Hyderabadi dialect commonly used in Irani hotels, play fields or among teammates brought smiles among the citizens from the land of the Musi

Hyderabad: For all pucca Hyderabadis, watching apna Team India fielding coach R Sridhar in conversation with fellow Hyderabadi and Test debutant Mohammed Siraj must have been a zabardast delight. The typical Hyderabadi dialect commonly used in Irani hotels, play fields or among teammates brought smiles among the citizens from the land of the Musi.

The conversation went somewhere on these lines:

Sridhar: Aaj shaam mein mere saath hain Mohammed Siraj joh hamara Hyderabad ke ek dam ustad fast bowler pehle Test match MCG Boxing Day Test mei. VVS Laxman ke baad tum pehle Hyderbadi ho jo Hyderabad mein paida hua aur India ko debut kiya. Aap ka aaj kya maholl thaa aur kya lagrah thaa? (Today we have Hyderabad ustad and Hyderabad fast bowler. That too on Boxing Day at MCG. After Laxman you are the born and brought up in Hyderabad to make debut for India. How is the atmosphere and how are you feeling?)

Siraj replies: Mero Ko tho bahut hi acha lag rah thaa. Jaise ground mein utra aur jaise cap milee debut mein matlab sabse life mein bada achievement tha. Aur jaise mein ground mein utra, lunch tak ball nahi milee aur jaise drinks hua uske baad bowlers ne bahut acha kiye aur mere koh bhi Ajju bhai mujhse baat kar ke confident deh rahe the ke acha laaga aur mere baaju mein Jesse bhai the confident deh reh the. (I am feeling very happy. As soon as I entered the ground and when I made my debut it was my life’s biggest achievement. I entered the ground but I didn’t get bowling till lunch. The bowlers bowled beautifully. Ajju bhai (Ajinkya Rahane) gave me confident and so was Jesse)

Sridhar: Doosra sawal yeh pooch na tha, lunch tak ball nahi haath laga toh dimag mein kya chaal rah tha? Haatha khujara thaa kya?(Second question, till lunch you couldn’t get the ball. What was going through your mind and were your hands itching?)

Suraj: Haatha tho khujara rah thaa. Ajju bhai bolre the ki end mein aana. Uske ke baad bolthe toh aur warm up kiya. Mein bhi socha thaa theek hai wicket mein moisture hoga tho spinner ko helpful hain. Uske baad mein mai socha thaa run out mein kuch contribution karunga and confident bhi thaa. Uske lunch ke baad aya tho mera ek plan tha tho dot ball jaada dalun aur pressure build karoon kyun ki uske baad pressure mein wicket mileage (My hands were itching. Ajju bhai told me I would come from this end and I was warming up. I thought I would contribute by making a run out. After lunch, I had a plan to bowl dot balls and build pressure and then get wicket).

Sridhar: Aacha yeh pahle batao mujhe pehle cheh ball swing nahi hoh raha thaa uske baad doosra spell aap dono taraf idhar udhar swing kar reh the. Kya toh bhi woh kissa? (You didn’t swing the first six balls but in the second spell you could swing the ball both ways. What was this about?)

Siraj: Woh toh natural hai sir. Mein yeh try kar rah tha ki matlab thoda close stumps aah raa thaa and uske baad mein wide off stumps daal raa tha. Mera angle natural in swing tha and aur bhi swing hoh raha tha. (It is natural for me sir. I was bowling close to the stumps and then bowled outside the off stump. I have natural in swing)

Sridhar: Cameron Green ko zabardast set kiye aur uske baad zabardast catchaan pakde outfield mein? (You set up Green nicely and took fine catches in the outfield)

Siraj: Cameron ghiri tika tho jab mera bahar bhi acha aur andar bhi acha aah rah thaa. . Usko andhar andhar dala thaa uske baad do over usko bahar dala but eek dum eek ball andhar daala thaa. Bahut acha laga set kar ke. Jaisa fielding ki tension nahi thi woh yeh cheez ki. (I was bowling outswingers and I bowled with inswingers but I brought one in nicely. There was no tension while fielding).

The Hyderabadi lingo brought memories to many past cricketers. Former fast bowler Rajesh Yadav and former wicketkeeper Youraj Singh said it was always fun when we talk in Hyderabad dialect. Words like haule, chillar kahin, dimagh hi nah hai, bewakoof.

P Harimohan, echoed the same feeling. “The lingo is so unique that whoever hears it can’t help laughing. It’s so typical of our happy go lucky culture.’

Also read: