Siraj makes his opportunity count
Was it in the scheme of things or just destiny? Mohammad Siraj made it to the playing XI of the India T20 team after a gap of almost two years. Making a comeback would be a mild term, barging straight into the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup opener would be more accurate. Siraj was airdropped into the team on the eve of the tournament opener after all-rounder Harshit Rana injured himself in the warm-up fixture against South Africa on February 4. The pacer had faint chances of making it to the playing XI but Jasprit Bumrah turning up unwell on match day meant that another door has been slammed open for the Hyderabad pacer.
Siraj lived up to the billing, grabbing a wicket off his fourth ball, opener Andries Gous (6) being his scalp in the second over. Then in the fourth over, he had Saiteja Mukkamalla (2) caught at short midwicket by Varun Chakravarthy.
In the 20th over, Siraj exchanged some barbs with Shubham Ranjane (37) before getting him out with a toe-crushing yorker off the last ball of the innings. The pacer, who has played 45 Tests, 50 ODIs and 16 T20Is, deftly exploited the sluggish pace of the wicket to induce mishits and claim his kills. Siraj (3/29) returned as the most successful bowler for the winning Indian team.
