-Boria Majumdar
Mohammed Siraj carrying the Indian flag around the Gabba and the entire team marching behind him in January 2021 is one of the most enduring picture postcards in the history of Indian cricket. In this one instant, he had ceased to be a Muslim or a Hindu. His religion did not matter. He had been appropriated and consumed by the vision of Indianness that we all believe in and credit must go to Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and the entire team for giving us this moment to cherish. They had demonstrated to one and all their secular credentials and the ideals they believe in.
Siraj, more than others, has been celebrated and each team member stood by him for what he achieved braving all odds. And now that he has risen to the pole position in the ODI rankings, his journey can only get better from here on.
I have watched and studied Indian cricket for a living. And needless to say it is a rich history. We started playing international cricket in 1932 and have had many incredible moments in the years gone by. While none can possibly top the Indian takeover of Lord’s in 1983, the one moment from the Brisbane Test in January 2021 that will forever remain a perfect picture postcard for India was when Mohammed Siraj was handed over the Indian flag by his teammates and he led the victory parade around the Gabba with thousands of Indian supporters cheering their new found hero. Here was a young man from Hyderabad who had lost his father but was unable to come back to his family bringing smiles to a billion faces with his illustrious teammates cheering him on. He wasn’t Muslim or Hindu. He was Indian. This was the India of our dreams turning into a reality. Not the toxic India that plays out every day on national television. Not the divisive India that plays into the hands of politicians. Not the India deeply divided by privilege and underprivilege. This was an India of hope and an India that dares to dream. Siraj isn’t the most eloquent. He need not be. What he is and will be is what our country is all about. Hard work and more hard work with dignity and integrity and such effort does pay off. The number 1 ranking is proof.
Let me put a few things on record as far as Siraj is concerned. Siraj had lost his father during the statutory period of 14 days hard quarantine in Australia in November 2020. What this meant was that none of his teammates could even go to his room to give him a shoulder to cry on. At the time there were cops outside every room just in case the Indians tried to violate protocol. As a result his teammates were on video calls with him all day and were concerned he wouldn’t do something drastic or damaging to himself. Only the physio was allowed to go to his room to treat him and Nitin Patel used the window to go and console the young man who was in mourning. Siraj broke down on multiple occasions, which is only natural but never gave up. He was steadfast and resolute. He wanted to fulfil his father’s wish of doing his best for India and when the opportunity came his way at the MCG on the huge occasion of the Boxing Day Test, he just did not want to let it go. In fact, he later said that he was abusing himself for failing and coaxed himself to push harder on debut. “I was telling myself that I hadn’t done anything worthwhile in the white ball games. And here are the very same batsmen- Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, who I had bowled to and had success against while playing for India A. Then why couldn’t I do so at this stage? I had to. There was no turning back.”
Siraj has not turned back since. In 2 years he is the world’s number 1 bowler. And when we look back at the two years it was only fitting that his teammates handed him the tricolour during the team’s victory march at the Gabba. He was so much more than a cricketer. He was a young boy who had turned a man in the course of the two months in Australia. He was the head of his family who was taking over from his father. He was responsible for fighting on for a billion people ravaged by covid. He shouldered on and emerged a winner. Good things indeed happen to good people and good men do come first in the end. Siraj and his ranking is proof.