Jennifer
Mohammed Siraj shares a great bond with Virat Kohli. There have been numerous occasions where the pacer has gone on to narrate incidents, that show how close the two cricketers are. Besides, Kohli captained Siraj at Bangalore for four seasons.
Thus, the Andhra Pradesh pacer has credited the batting maestro for his success as well. Recently, Siraj recalled an incident when Kohli come to his house after initially denying. He said that it was the best surprise of his life.
While speaking on Bangalore’s podcast, Siraj said that he once invited all his Bangalore teammates for dinner at his place. However, when he invited Kohli, his then Bangalore skipper told him that he wouldn’t be able to make it due to a stiff back. However, Kohli elated Siraj with a surprise visit.
“I had invited everyone from Bangalore to my house for dinner. I went home straight from the hotel. When I called him (Kohli) up, he said, ‘I have a stiff back miyan, I can’t come.’ I told him to rest. What more could I say.
“But, when everyone came, I saw him get off the car. Everyone was there, PP (Parthiv Patel) bhai, Chahal bhai. I just ran towards bhaiya (Kohli) and hugged him. It was the best surprise of my life because bhaiya (Kohli) had said he won’t come. It became news: Virat Kohli has come to Toli Chowki,” said Mohammed Siraj.
The Indian pacer also drew light on his struggles. He spoke about how the Indian T20 league completely changed his life. He also spoke about how he wanted to see his parents happy. “I only had struggles. My dad used to drive an auto, I only had a Platina. Dad used to give me 60 rupees for petrol. I would manage with that to reach Uppal Stadium, which was quite far from my house. When I was selected for the ITL, all those struggles came to an end,” he said.
“Dad stopped driving auto, mom stopped doing household work, we stopped living in rented accommodation, we bought a new house. I didn’t need anything else in life. All I needed was my parents to be happy in a house we own. ITL gave me fame, it taught me the ways to be in social circles from meeting and talking to so many people. I learned so much. It’s all because of ITL,” he added.
