Mohammed Siraj has been the talk of the town since his stunning spell with the new ball for Royal Challengers Bangalore in a recent IPL 2020 match Kolkata Knight Riders. The right-arm pacer set a new milestone as he bowled two straight maiden overs, the first time in the league’s history, and took three wickets in them.
His efforts set up a dominating eight-wicket win for RCB who look all set to make the playoffs this season.
However, for Siraj, the road to success has been full of hurdles and he has had to deal with his fair share of critics after as string of poor show. Last season, he took seven wickets in nine matches and was pretty expensive too.
However, this year has been vastly different for the pacer who is basking in the glory of his exploits.
The 26-year-old revealed that former India captain MS Dhoni asked him to never take the opinions of others seriously, whether good or bad.
“Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) always advises to never take opinions of others seriously. One bad game and they claim you aren’t good enough. If you keep thinking about that, you will go mad. The focus should be on the next match. Because if you do well, the same set of people will praise you for being a good bowler,” Siraj told RCB.
Siraj revealed that before the KKR match, his mind wasn’t in the right space after hearing news of his father being admitted to a hospital a day before.
“Father was admitted to a hospital one before the match so I became concerned. After the match, I called home and was surprised that he was back. So it was another good news for me,” Siraj said. “He (Father) told me that people are calling him about your performance in IPL and all the Hyderabad newspapers are carrying your photo,” he said.