From holiday plans to heroics: Mohammed Siraj's unexpected World Cup night

He had lined up a long holiday in Germany and a trip to Spain to watch a Real Madrid match. He told his friends in Hyderabad about the plan and, when a call came in from Adrian le Roux, the Indian team trainer, he pleaded not to be disturbed. Mumbai was not supposed to be on his pre-IPL itinerary until Friday night. Twenty-four hours later, he emerged as the unlikely star of India's difficult win over the USA team.

"Then suddenly, Surya bhai (skipper Suryakumar Yadav) called me. He said, 'Get ready, pack your bag, and come.' I said, 'Surya bhai, don't joke, because this is not going to happen.' He said, 'I'm telling you the truth - get ready.' As soon as he hung up, I got a call from (Pragyan) Ojha, the national selector. So suddenly, I got shocking news."

Mohammed Siraj had very little time to pack his bags and catch a flight to Mumbai where he joined the Indian team in place of the injured Harshit Rana. "No one can change what God has written. I came, played the match - everything was written. God is great. No one can do anything beyond that."

But what Siraj did last night, very few players perhaps can. Drafted straight into the playing XI, he produced one of the finest spells with the new ball, providing the side with a couple of seminal breakthroughs - particularly vital as India were defending a modest total of 161.

The USA were 11 for two and then 13 for three, and the match was effectively won and lost in the first four Indian overs. Siraj finished with figures of three for 29, adding one wicket off the last ball of the match to the two important scalps he had claimed in the PowerPlay.

Siraj had not played a T20I in 18 months, his last appearance being in Sri Lanka in July 2024. He had reconciled himself to the fact that he would not be part of the World Cup campaign and had told the Indian team trainer that he needed a break, having just finished a couple of Ranji games in which he captained the Hyderabad team. Later, he would say, "God changed my destiny."

Siraj's comeback is the stuff of fairy tales, the kind sporting success stories are made of. He not only had to join the squad at short notice but also play the match with very little time for preparation, as spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was indisposed. Siraj is particularly known to shine when he is not in Bumrah's shadow, and he lived up to that reputation by claiming wickets in his first two overs on his T20I return.

The 18-month hiatus was no impediment as Siraj hit the straps straightaway - the experience of over 100 (112) internationals and 10 years in international cricket understandably helping him. "I've been playing for India for almost 10 years now, so when you get a chance, you know how to prepare yourself. If a youngster gets the chance, he has to think about many things. But since I've been around the team, I know how to get ready in this format and how to set my mindset. Even when I slept last night, I just thought I would stick to the same weapon that has given me success so far.

"I bowled the same line and length that I was bowling in the Ranji Trophy. When we were batting, I felt the new ball wasn't that easy to hit. So my plan was to stick to the new ball, bowl wicket to wicket, and if I could get a wicket there, it would help the team a lot." It helped the team win the match.

Siraj heaped praise on Arshdeep Singh, his new-ball partner, with whom he bowled all six PowerPlay overs and exploited the helpful conditions. "The execution was very good, especially from Arshdeep. He bowled three overs that created a lot of pressure, and because of that, we got this result." Arshdeep finished with figures of two for 18.

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