Royal Challengers Bangalore have begun a new podcast where several of their stars have discussed how the Indian Premier League has changed their lives. Mohammed Siraj also revealed an interesting tale on how he bought a new smartphone as well as a car after securing his first IPL deal.
The rise of Siraj over the last couple of years has been phenomenal to witness. With sensational exploits during the Border Gavaskar Trophy triumph in Australia, he established his place in the Indian team on the back of consistently improving performances with RCB.
The 27-year-old also went on to star during the Test series against England and improved his game even further during IPL 2021. He has become an important asset in the Indian pace bowling unit, and it goes without saying that the IPL has played a key role in bringing him to the limelight.
Bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017, it was with the Royal Challengers, who secured his services in 2018, where Siraj first started making a mark. Despite being wayward in the initial years, continued backing from the team management and a desire to get better have helped him become the bowler he is today.
In a recent podcast with RCB, Siraj shared a story about how the IPL changed his life. On being asked, what was the first thing he purchased after getting an IPL contract, he revealed that he got an iPhone 7 Plus.
“First thing I bought was an iPhone 7+. Then I bought a second-hand Corolla. Cars are important. IPL players need to have a car. For how long do I push around a Platina? But I didn’t know how to drive. My uncle’s son knew how to drive so I called him every time I wanted to go out,”
he said while speaking in RCB’s podcast to Danish Sait.
The pace bowler also shared a story where he had to put the windows of his car down on a hot day because the air-conditioning had stopped working. This resulted in the public continually waving at him.
“Once we went to a function and realized that Corolla doesn’t even have air conditioning, so we had to put the glasses of the window down. And the public started waving Siraj, Siraj! We could not even raise the glasses as it was so hot. Then next year, I bought a Mercedes”,
he added.