Ranji Trophy plans worked in T20 World Cup: Siraj explains his heroics vs USA

Here is the full transcript of Mohammed Siraj, India vs USA, post-match press conference in Mumbai. 

[Reporter:]
If you can just talk to us about the last 24 hours—how has it been for you, coming back to the T20 setup after 19 months and then taking three wickets? Just the last 24 hours, and representing India again in T20s.

[Mohammed Siraj:]
It was hard. First of all, in the last 24 hours, when I was sitting on the flight, it felt like a dream. Because I never thought I would play in the World Cup. For the past year, the planning was that all the World Cup players would get chances in T20s. But when I didn’t play in T20s, I understood that I wouldn’t be part of it this year.
But God changed my destiny. I was spending time with my family, and one day before, I got a message from Adrian asking about my plans for the next few days. I said, don’t message me right now—I’m resting because I’m playing two four-day games. I need rest, and after that we’ll see the plan.
Then suddenly, Surya bhai called me. He said, get ready, pack your bag, and come. I said, Surya bhai, don’t joke, because this is not going to happen. He said, I’m telling you the truth—get ready. As soon as he hung up, I got a call from Oja. So suddenly, I got shocking news. No one can change what God has written. I came, played the match—everything was written. God is great. No one can do anything beyond that.

[Reporter:]
Siraj, everything happened suddenly, but you were ready. You’ve played so much cricket—domestic, four-day, ODI, T20. When you play an international match, I won’t say you need preparation because you come prepared from within. But mentally, were you emotionally charged after getting the chance? Did you feel you had to do something?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
Obviously, there is emotion. As a player, playing in the World Cup is a different dream. 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 wasn’t 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. So I’m very happy.

[Reporter:]
I have two small questions. First, you had shown Ronaldo’s wallpaper at the Oval—do you still have it? And second, how challenging is it mentally to get a sudden call-up for the World Cup? What was going on in your mind—not just in the last 24 hours, but after joining the team, even last night before sleeping?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
Yes, the wallpaper is still there. When you’re playing in the World Cup, you have to be mentally ready. I’ve been playing for India for almost 10 years now, so when you get a chance, you know how to prepare yourself.
If a youngster gets the chance, he has to think about many things. But since I’ve been around the team, I know how to get ready in this format and how to set my mindset. Even when I slept last night, I just thought I would stick to the same weapon that has given me success so far. And I got the same success today as well.

[Reporter:]
Siraj, what was the discussion during the break? How were you planning to defend 160? And at what stage in the dressing room were you confident that you had crossed the safety line?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
When Ishan was batting with the new ball, he said it was a two-paced wicket. After that, we discussed it and felt that 170 would have been a very good score, because there wasn’t much dew. So we believed even 160–170 was competitive.
The plan was to take as many wickets as possible in the powerplay to put pressure on the opposition. That was the only plan. The execution was very good, especially from Arshdeep. He bowled three overs that created a lot of pressure, and because of that, we got this result.

[Reporter:]
What was the dressing room like when the wickets were falling early and the team was 70 for 6? Was there worry, or did you always have confidence?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
No, 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’s a Mumbai player. He was very calm and said, “I’m here, we’ll move forward. Don’t worry.”

[Reporter:]
Your bowling was very good. You were playing Ranji Trophy and even leading the Hyderabad team. Then you came back to white-ball cricket. You might have thought you would get a chance after a couple of matches, especially with Jassi bhai’s fitness concerns. But you got the chance in the first match itself. What were your thoughts during that changeover?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
Sir, earlier I didn’t know I would play. I was just happy to be back in the team. But when I got the message that I was playing, I became more excited. I arrived yesterday and played the match today, so I was very excited.
While I was playing the Ranji Trophy as captain, I was thinking about my role and the team’s needs. Even today, I was thinking about my bowling—how to put pressure on the opposition, where to attack, whether to bowl defensively or aggressively. All that was in my mind, and whatever I planned, it got executed.

[Reporter:]
Yesterday, Surya said that against teams you haven’t played much, you should look at video analysis. But you didn’t have much time. Did you just trust your instincts?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
No, no. I obviously watched the videos. I saw them at around 3 o’clock. Without video analysis and preparation, you can’t enter such a big tournament. It’s the World Cup.

[Reporter:]
Siraj, when you bowl to Surya in the nets, does he play those kinds of shots—scoops, lap shots, and so on? How competitive is it to bowl to him in the nets?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
Surya plays on instinct. He reads the field and plays accordingly. As you saw, when there were two off-side fielders inside, he played a wide yorker shot because square leg and fine leg were inside. His mind works according to the field. It’s difficult to bluff him because he often succeeds. As a bowler, you have to trust your own plans. But hats off to him for that innings. Even after losing so many wickets early, he stayed calm. This isn’t a bilateral series—it’s a World Cup. It’s very difficult to play such an innings in such a big event.

[Reporter:]
You’ve been out of the T20 team for a long time, but you know about the team’s fearless, high-risk, high-reward approach. Today, at 75 for 6, especially Sky didn’t change that approach. Someone took it deep. How did it feel to be part of that atmosphere?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
Obviously, when you’ve been successful playing this kind of cricket for a long time, there’s no need to change it. We’ve been successful with this approach.
I was sitting in the dressing room watching such fearless cricket. Even after losing six wickets, there was no panic. It was very calm. Everyone felt we would definitely win this match—and we did. I’m very happy to be part of this dressing room.

[Reporter:]
My question is about Abhishek Sharma. He didn’t come out to field today, and Sanju Samson fielded the whole time. Is everything fine?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
Everything is fine. His stomach was a little upset, so he didn’t come out to field. He’ll be back in the next match and show his magic with the bat.

[Reporter:]
Siraj bhai, you told us about the last 36–48 hours. But what was your plan for February? You had a small break in your schedule. What had you planned?

[Mohammed Siraj:]
Sir, my plan was that on the 15th, there was a Real Madrid match, and I was going to watch it. After that, Ramzan was coming, so I had planned around that. But whatever God has written will happen.