On Wednesday (January 25), Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj achieved the world's No. 1 ranking in the ODI bowlers list. The 28-year-old has been a force to be reckoned with in white-ball cricket for Team India in recent times. Last year, he was the leading wicket-taker in 50-over matches for the Men in Blue, and in 2021, he has continued to impress, taking 14 wickets in five matches thus far.
The Hyderabad-born cricketer has been particularly impressive in his last two matches, bagging back-to-back four wickets against Sri Lanka (January 15) and New Zealand (January 18), helping India to secure victory in both games.
The right-arm pacer, who has played 21 ODIs for India since his debut on January 15, 2019, against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, has become the third Indian fast bowler after Kapil Dev and Jasprit Bumrah to reach the No. 1 position in the ODI bowler rankings. His impressive performance has earned him a total of 729 rating points, a remarkable feat for a bowler of his caliber.
After Siraj rocketed to the top of the ODI bowling rankings, an old video of him recently went viral on the internet. In the video, the Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler can be heard attributing his success to former Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Not only has Siraj shared the dressing room with Kohli for Team India, but he has also been a key contributor to the Bengaluru-based side in the IPL, playing alongside Virat.
"Mera kharab performance k baad jab bhaiya ne mujhe bol k, RCB management ne jo mujhe back kiya, jo mujhe retain kiya, to be honest, jo bhi abhi is waqt main hoon, pura credit goes to Virat bhai (After my bad performance the way Virat and RCB management backed me and retained me, to be honest, whatever I am at present, all the credit goes to Virat)," Siraj said.
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Siraj made his ODI and T20I debut for Team India under Virat Kohli's leadership and was an integral part of the squad that emphatically defeated England at the Lord's Test in 2021. His impressive performance was a key factor in India's resounding victory, cementing his place as a valuable asset to the team.
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