Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj's rise as a seamer was remarkably swift. The son of an autorickshaw driver in Hyderabad, he only began playing the game in class seven. It was in 2015 that he first bowled with a cricket ball. In 2017, he bagged an IPL contract worth INR 2.6 crore. Months later, he was wearing an India shirt and bowling in a T20 international against New Zealand.

Sturdy and athletic, Siraj has a deceptive run-up, which initially suggests that a left-arm bowler is steaming in. He is, however, a right-armer and by his own admission is a natural at getting the ball to swing into the right-hander. He has always been able to bowl a pretty quick bouncer though, something that had impressed his captain David Warner and team mentor VVS Laxman in the Sunrisers Hyderabad set-up.

Potential translated to performance when he was his state's highest wicket-taker playing only his second season of Ranji Trophy - 41 wickets in nine matches. He was subsequently picked to play for the Rest of India and was brought on board by the India A team as well for a tour of South Africa in July-August 2017. The step up to the big league arrived soon after.

Mohammed Siraj IPL factfile

- Mohammed Siraj got his first IPL gig when Sunrisers Hyderabad signed him for INR 2.6 crore and had a stellar first season, with 10 wickets from six games.

- Siraj was then signed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where he spent the next seven years. Siraj became RCB's go-to bowler in the powerplay. He had his best season in 2023, when he took 19 wickets in 14 matches.

- In IPL 2024, Siraj took 15 wickets before being released by RCB ahead of the 2025 mega-auction when Gujarat Titans (GT) acquired him for INR 12.25 crore