It was only apt that he would be the man leading the Indian team off the field for the final time in this Test series, having picked his maiden fifer ©Getty
"Sir aap thoda encouragement de do, dekho mein kitna aage jaata hoon. Jaan de doonga sir. (Sir, just give me some encouragement and see how far I go. I'll give my life for it)."
Mohammed Siraj was still all of 20 and just a net bowler when he approached Bharat Arun with this bold declaration. He'd been called up to bowl to the Kings XI Punjab batsmen during the 2014 IPL in Hyderabad. As the then bowling coach of the franchise, Arun was around overseeing the practice session. He'd never met or heard of Siraj before. But the boy's immense self-confidence had made an impression on him.
Siraj it turned out had been part of his state's under-22 team that year. Within a year, he was making his first-class debut for Hyderabad. Only a season later, Arun and he would renew their acquaintances, forming a mentor-pupil relationship that would become an integral part of the young seamer's development. And it continued even after the former India fast bowler quit as Hyderabad coach and resumed his duties with the Indian team.
It's the phone calls that Arun would receive from him during the phase post 2016, however, that really convinced the coach that Siraj's confidence alone could bring him to the highest level. In addition to his bountiful skills that is. And the content of these conversations would more or less be the same each time.
"Sir kab bula rahe ho wahan? (Sir when are you calling me up to the Indian team?)" early on and then a few months later, "Sir ab bahut India A bhi khel liya, abhi toh bula lo. (Now, I've played a lot of India A cricket too. You should call me over now)."
Even Arun though couldn't have imagined the manner in which that innate self-confidence and belief would turn Siraj into an outright sensation when that call did finally come. For, during this dramatic Test series, the 26-year-old new-ball bowler has not just won hearts over in India and Australia. Like he'd promised the man who'd become his lifelong guide during their first meeting, Siraj has shown that he is indeed made for the big league. And that all he ever needed was a "little encouragement".
It's hard to deny that this has been the summer of Siraj. And that it was only apt that he would be the man leading the Indian team off the field for the final time in this Test series. That his last act with the ball on tour would be holding it up to loud cheers from everyone at the Gabba following
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