"Was going to watch Real Madrid's match on Feb 15": Siraj on his comeback to Indian T20 WC squad

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 8 (ANI): Following his side's win over the USA in the ICC T20 World Cup opener, Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj, who made his return to the T20I side as a replacement for an injured Harshit Rana, reflected on his comeback, saying that he had planned to go and catch a Real Madrid game live a week from now, but "god changed his destiny".
Siraj made a triumphant return to the Indian T20I squad for the first time since mid-2024, taking three wickets in helping India restrict USA to 132/8 in 20 overs in a chase of moderate 162 runs, which Team India could make on the back of a fine 84* from skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Speaking about his comeback during the post-match presser, the Indian skipper said, "My plan was that on the 15th, there was a Real Madrid match, and I was going to watch it. After that, Ramadan was coming, so I had planned around that. But whatever God has written will happen."
The pacer said that sitting inside the plane with the T20 WC squad "felt like a dream" since he felt he was not destined to play the tournament as he was not amongst the players to have got a chance in the format over the last year.
"But god changed my destiny. I was spending time with my family not so long ago. Suddenly, Suryabhai asked me to get ready, and I told him not to joke around. He said he was telling me the truth. It was shocking news, god had written all this, no one can change it, nothing is greater than that," he added.
Siraj said that during his spell, he was driven by emotion to do well since playing in the World Cup is a dream for all the players.
"So I just bowled the same line and length that I was bowling in the Ranji Trophy. When we were batting, I felt the new ball was not that easy to hit. So my plan was to stick to the new ball, bowl wicket to wicket, and if I could get a wicket there, it would help the team a lot. That was the plan, and I executed it and got wickets as well," he added.
The pacer revealed that, as Ishan Kishan was batting against the new ball, he said in the dugout that it was a two-paced wicket, and the discussions led to the conclusion that even 160-170 would be a competitive total with little dew around.
"The plan was to take as many wickets as possible in the power play to put pressure on the opposition. That was the only plan. The execution was very good, especially from Arshdeep (Singh). He bowled three overs that created a lot of pressure, and because of that, we got this result," he added.
Siraj also revealed that despite India losing so many wickets early, there was "calm" in the dressing room as they knew that the local boy Suryakumar Yadav would do well, and he himself told the team to not worry.
"It was calm. Surya was batting at the other end, so the dressing room was very calm. He knows this wicket very well because he is a Mumbai player. He was very calm and said, "I am here, we will move forward. Do not worry," he concluded.
Coming to the match, the USA won the toss and opted to field first. After a golden duck dismissal of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (20 in 16 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (25 in 16 balls, with three fours and a six) put on a 37-run partnership. Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/25 in four overs) got both the batters, and from there started India's downfall as they sank to 77/6, with Shivam Dube (0), Rinku Singh (6) and Hardik Pandya (5) disappointing the home crowd.
However, skipper Suryakumar (84* in 49 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes) did not give up, taking his side to 161/9 in 20 overs. Harmeet Singh (2/26) and Mohammad Mohsin (1/16) delivered sensational four-over spells, containing a strong Indian line-up.
In the run-chase, the USA was struggling at 13/3, with Mohammed Siraj (3/29) and Arshdeep Singh (2/18) striking early. A 58-run stand between Milind Kumar (34 in 34 balls, with three fours and a six) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37 in 31 balls, with a four and two sixes) helped USA fight. But later on, Indian bowlers picked up wickets and restricted the USA to 132/8.
Now with this 'Player of the Match' award, Suryakumar has climbed over Virat Kohli for most T20I 'POTM' honours for India, getting his 17th one. This was also his fourth T20 WC POTM in 19 matches, climbing over legendary Yuvraj Singh. Virat owns the most T20 WC POTM awards, with eight in 35 matches.
This year has been incredible so far for Surya after a long slump, having so far scored 326 runs in six innings at an average of 108.66, with four fifties and a strike rate of 189.53.

161 is the lowest total successfully defended in the 10 T20Is at the Wankhede. With this win, India has secured their ninth consecutive win in the T20 WC, surpassing South Africa's eight wins in the 2024 edition. (ANI)