Follow UsMohammed Siraj was ignored by team India for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 India squad despite picking up 20 wickets at an average of 31 and playing in all five Tests against Australia. This fuelled him to not only do well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, where he picked up 16 wickets, starting the season with the brilliant 'clean bowled' of Rohit Sharma, but also resolved to make a promise to himself.
What was that promise? Former India strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai revealed it in a video uploaded by former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
"Siraj played five Tests. He didn't land in London and planned that he would play five Tests. When he was not picked for the Champions Trophy, the conversation took place then itself,” Desai was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Narrating a conversation he had with Siraj back then, Soham recalled that back then he had told Siraj, “Today it may feel like a setback but when you win in England, then you will remember you started training from then so you could play five.”
Before the start of the Champions Trophy 2025, Soham’s contract came to an end, but Siraj went on to fulfil the promise he made to himself. Not only did he play the five Tests, but was the hero for India as it was his inspired spell on the fifth morning of the fifth Test that helped India to win the Oval game by six runs and level the series 2-2.