Siraj’s humble beginnings continue to inspire locals

On Friday, on a visit to the First Lancer Ground in Hyderabad's Syed Nagar area, the hub for cricket in the locality, this correspondent came across Jayed Khan, a young fast bowler with dreams of making it big as a cricketer.

Jayed was using a roller on the pitch, preparing it for the tennis-ball tournament with 64 teams set to begin the following day at the venue.

One of the organisers pointed at Jayed and a friend of his, predicting that they would play for India one day.

Although the tournament in question is an amateur one, it does not stop the players taking part and its organisers from dreaming big. And why should it, as First Lancer is the place where India's current speedster Mohammed Siraj first learned his trade -- no coaches, no rules, just playing cricket as he wanted.

It was later learnt that Siraj himself had been at the area on Thursday to hang out with friends and stayed till midnight. He has not forgotten his roots and was expected to come to the field again later in the day.

"He [Siraj] always gives us tips and says it's the length that matters not the pace," Jayed said.

Siraj, who is not part of the India squad for the T20I series against Bangladesh, still takes part in the matches at the First Lancer Ground whenever he can, though he only plays as a batter.

"He just bats in these tournaments. If the New Zealand series was not coming up, he would be playing tomorrow [Saturday]," said Mohammad Ali, another of the young pacers.

One can come across his humble beginnings at the Khaja Nagar Banjara Hill Road where he used to live in a rented apartment on a three-storied building with his family. His father, the late Mohammad Ghaus, earned his living as an auto driver in the city.

"His father was a really nice person and always asked for prayers saying, 'My son would become a cricketer one day'. His father's support for Siraj was tremendous. Siraj was always popular here, even then he would bring home trophies and win tournaments with prize money of around 50,000 Rupees," said Mohammed Rafeeq, the landlord of the place.

"When he got the IPL contract, for two to three months guys from the media were flooding this street. We still have the same kind of relationship with his family. He was here for my child's marriage too."

The youngsters informed that Siraj never played for a club on a professional basis. "He just played here and then went to a tournament and grabbed six wickets. He went to a Ranji trial and got his debut and then went straight to IPL for Hyderabad," one of the youngsters said.

Siraj's friend, locally known as 'Maddy bhai', shared more of how Siraj is like with the youngsters.

"He struggled a lot and worked really hard. He is still the same with us. He jokes around a lot but also encourages kids here to work hard and on what to do and what not to do," Maddy said.

Siraj never had an idol nor formal coaching, which shows that passion is just as important as nurture. With Siraj as a role model, more kids like Jayed and Rafeeq can now dream of becoming an India icon.