I Just Ran Towards Him And Hugged Him - Mohammed Siraj Opens Up About The Time Virat Kohli Visited His House

Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj revealed a story back in the early RCB days when he had invited the squad over to his house for dinner and everybody including the then captain, Virat Kohli, showed up.

Kohli had phoned earlier saying that he had stiffness in his back and needed to rest. Siraj, although disappointed, wished his captain well. Much to his surprise later, when the players were getting down from the car, Siraj ended up spotting Kohli as well and he was overcome with emotions.

“I had invited everyone from RCB 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 Bhaiyya (Kohli) and hugged him. It was the best surprise of my life. Because Bhaiyya (Kohli) had said he won’t come. It became news, Virat Kohli has come to Toli Chowki,” Siraj said in the RCB podcast.

“When I was selected for the IPL, the struggles came to an end” – Mohammed Siraj

Coming from a poor family, Siraj has had to live through struggles his entire life. His dad worked hard to ensure that he has enough money for Siraj to ride to the stadium and attend his practice sessions. When he managed to bag his first IPL contract, life changed completely for the 27-year-old.

“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 IPL, all those struggles came to an end.”

“Dad stopped driving the 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. IPL 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 IPL,” Siraj added.

Siraj was one of the three players retained by RCB ahead of the IPL 2022 season, alongside Kohli and Glenn Maxwell.

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