This is the biggest day of my career, says Mohammed Siraj on his Test call-up

The Indian selectors recently announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming two-match home Test series against Windies. The likes of Mohammed Siraj and Mayank Agarwal were handed their maiden Test call-up while Shikhar Dhawan and Karun Nair were dropped from the squad.

It was an expected inclusion for Siraj and Mayank, who were rewarded for their consistent show in the domestic circuit for their respective state teams. Siraj, who has witnessed a dream run in the 4-day cricket for India A and Hyderabad, has come through the ranks to force his way into the Test squad.

Biggest Day of my career

Siraj was overjoyed to receive a maiden Test call-up. “Yes, I just can’t explain my joy. This is the biggest day of my career – getting selected for the Test match team is a thing which I have been chasing for the last one year,” said the 24-year-old in his exclusive chat with Sportstar.

The Hyderabad-lad was oozing with confidence after a successful outing with the ball in recent games against South Africa A and Australia A. “I should not sound talking big, but I was just hoping that my consistent performances would fetch me an opportunity to play Test too for I have been doing well in all the four-day games too,” says the bowler, now playing for Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Delhi.

Would want to make optimum use of the chances

Siraj wants to relish the opportunity at the highest level. Talking about his approach, “My philosophy is pretty simple. Make optimum use of the chances that come by your way,” he said. He owes a lot of credit to the experience that he gained while playing for India A. “Definitely, playing for India-A teams with Dravid Sir as the coach is a huge learning curve for me,” Siraj said.

The youngster was not buoyed by the quick success in the recent times and wishes to keep doing the hard work in the future. “I don’t think there is any big change in my bowling or attitude. Yes, the desire has always been to give off my best for whichever team I am playing for and I am glad that all the hard work is really paying off now,” said Siraj, who already made his T20I debut for India last year.

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