Mohammad Siraj improved his bowling a lot and became an integral part of the Indian team across all formats. Siraj has been in sensational form in the one-day internationals and became the No. 1 ODI bowler after his impressive performances in 2022. The veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik made an interesting comment about Mohammed Siraj’s performance in his T20I debut.
The right-arm pace bowler was consistent with the ball in domestic cricket and for India-A before making his international debut in November 2017. He made his T20I debut against New Zealand in Rajkot and had a nightmare in his first international match. Siraj picked up the wicket of Kiwi captain Kane Williamson, but he finished with 1/53 as he was belted around the park by Colin Munro.
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He Lives In Hyderabad But Can’t Speak A Word Of Telugu – Dinesh Karthik
Speaking on Cricbuzz’s ‘Rise of New India’ show, Dinesh Karthik recalled that he expected Colin Munro to smash Mohammed Siraj on his T20I debut because he was not ready for the shorter format. Karthik made fun of Siraj and said that he lives in Hyderabad but can’t speak a word of Telugu.
“When he was picked for T20s at the time, I think he wasn’t ready for the format. He was sharp but he was known to be a bit erratic and he got picked in the T20 team. He played a game in Rajkot against New Zealand and prior to that day I was saying, ‘There is a batter called Colin Munro, he is going to smack you. Just wait and watch, I have a feeling he is going to belt you,” said Karthik.
“He said, ‘No, no, I’ll get him out.’ Interestingly, Colin Munro went on to get a hundred in that game and he really pasted this guy. Even today he says you have such a bad tongue, you said something and it came through and my career almost got finished there. We have lot of fun moments, he is one of the few fast bowlers I connected with a lot. He lives in Hyderabad but can’t speak a word of Telugu, I make fun of him for that as well,” he added.
The 28-year-old has represented India in 17 Tests, 21 ODIs, and eight T20Is. He picked up 47 wickets, 38 wickets, and 11 wickets in the three formats, respectively.
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