‘Khali bouncer hi aata hain tujhe’ – Mohammed Siraj remembers upsetting KL Rahul during net bowling days

Royal Challengers Since India’s famous tour of Australia in 2020-21, when Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj was a part of it, he has been a big surprise for the Indian team. The Hyderabad pacer, who is 29 years old, told an untold story about the Indian star opener KL Rahul when he was younger.

Mohammed Siraj, who is currently leading the Indian team in all forms as the opening batsman, came from a very humble background. The RCB pacer told a story about his early days when, after doing well with the U-23 team, he was used as a net bowler.

He thought of a story about the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, KL Rahul, who was playing for the Bangalore team at the time. The stylish Indian batter reportedly got mad at Siraj for throwing a series of bouncers and asked the pacer if he knew anything else besides throwing short balls in the nets.

“I had played with the team for people under 23. I had played in one Ranji Trophy match. I got a wicket, but then I was taken out of the team for the next two games. The next year, RCB played against Sunrisers (Hyderabad), and I was a net bowler at that time. I kept throwing short balls at KL Rahul, which made him angry. He told me, “Do you only know how to bowl bouncers?” This means, “Do you only know how to bowl bouncers?” “I told him, ‘Bhaiya, I know other things, too,'” Siraj told Gaurav Kapoor in a conversation on his show Breakfast With Champions.

Arun Sir picked me up, and I was the player who took the most wickets that year: Mohammed Siraj

The Indian fast bowler, who gets excited quickly, also talked about how former Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun affected his career. Bharat fought for Siraj to be on the Ranji Trophy team for Hyderabad. His faith in the young right-arm pacer paid off, as that bowler ended up taking the most wickets that year.

“Arun sir became the Ranji Trophy coach for Hyderabad the following year. I didn’t get picked for the Ranji Trophy team. So Arun sir said, “I want this boy on the team. If you listen, I will join the group. If you don’t, I won’t. So Arun sir came and picked me, and that year I took the most wickets of anyone,” Siraj said.