Mohammed Ismail, the brother of fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, revealed that Siraj was deeply disappointed after not being selected for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. He shared that the 31-year-old went through a tough emotional phase but used the setback as motivation.
Determined to bounce back, Siraj followed a strict training schedule and worked tirelessly to improve his performance. Despite his strong credentials, the Hyderabad pacer was overlooked for the tournament, with India choosing Harshit Rana as the additional fast bowler.
Speaking to The Times of India, Mohammed Ismail opened up about Siraj’s mindset during that period.
“Siraj is a different player now. After not being picked in the ICC Champions Trophy, Siraj was upset. Really upset. He was heartbroken. But he became a different person. He started practicing more and more. There was some hard training and a strict regime involved then.”
“Now, the results are in front of us. That gap between the Champions Trophy and the IPL gave him a lot of time to train both mentally and physically. That period did him a lot of good. He then played the IPL and performed well, and now in England, he is the highest wicket-taker.”
Siraj’s Brother Reveals Pacer’s Admiration For Cristiano Ronaldo
Mohammed Siraj often expresses his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo, celebrating wickets with the star’s iconic “SIUUU” and keeping his photo as his phone wallpaper. His brother shared that Siraj never misses a match featuring Ronaldo and passionately supports him from home.
“He has big posters of Ronaldo in his room. We live in a penthouse, and he’s even built a mini-theatre there where he watches Ronaldo’s matches. He never misses a single one. All we hear is his cheering and shouting whenever Ronaldo is playing,” Ismail said.
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