Gargi Raut in London
It was clear who the hero was after India’s historic win. Mohammed Siraj. While he bowled the most overs and took the most wickets. He became something far bigger, the hero of the common man.
After 57 minutes of madness at the Oval. In the post-match press conference, Siraj spoke in a way only Siraj can. Unfiltered, heartfelt and completely himself. He said he’d woken up at 6 am that morning, two hours earlier than usual. Nerves. Pressure. The weight of a nation on his shoulders. So, he reached for something to hold onto, he opened his phone, searched for a photo, and set it as his lockscreen.
Then, sitting in front of the world, unable to hide his beaming smile, he pulled his phone from his pocket and held it up. It was a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo, with one word across the centre: BELIEVE.
That one word; it’s so simple, so universal. Yet many of us don’t even know how to practice it in reality. But it was a word that carried Siraj through the whole day.
He spoke about workload too. Or, more precisely, how little he cared about it. Siraj has bowled 187 overs, over 1,100 deliveries, and beaten the bat 283 times this series, a record. But when he stepped off the podium and my colleague Subhayan Chakrabarty asked him, “Aur kitne overs daal sakte ho?”, Siraj just smiled and replied. “Abhi bhi daal sakta hu, aur tootne tak daalunga.”
And that one sentence summed up the essence of who Siraj is. Pure, raw and relentless effort, and a system deep rooted in self-belief. Even if Siraj’s body breaks, he’ll still ask for the ball.
Just some months ago, after India won the T20 World Cup, a moment with Siraj had gone viral. In a post-match interview, speaking about Jasprit Bumrah, he said in his own broken, beautiful English: “I only believe in Jassi bhai. Game-changer player he is.” It was an earnest, clumsy yet entirely endearing moment. Social media loved it, not to laugh at him but for Siraj being real.
And now, after this win at the Oval, this impossible, narrow, history-defining win, the same meme made its return. Only this time, people were saying: “I only believe in Siraj bhai.”
Soon after the press conference, many on social media shared the photo of him bowling that last yorker to Gus Atkinson and edited the word “BELIEVE” across it, just like his own wallpaper with Ronaldo. It spread instantly. Because that image, that word, and that man had come together to create something rare and the picture was a reflection of what Mohammed Siraj stands for.
Siraj doesn’t speak fluently. He isn’t flashy. He doesn’t try to be more than what he is. He’s shy but expressive. Genuine but tough. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and that same heart happens to be the heart of a beast.
And that’s why Siraj’s winning moments feel personal. Because in a game, in its glitz and glamour, one that often has the spotlight on the polished and the perfect, here was a man who climbed up the ranks with nothing but belief. And gave everything he had, without asking for anything in return.
From the narrow lanes of Hyderabad, a city that reflects in the way that Siraj speaks to the grandest stage in Test history. Siraj’s story hasn’t been easy. And maybe that’s why it resonates so deeply. He’s not some untouchable superstar. He’s like us. He hurts. He breaks. But he keeps coming back.
Mohammed Siraj now is a common man’s hero, and he fights for something more than just a win. He fights for everyone who still believes even when the odds are stacked against him.
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