"...Woke Up Early and Found Inspiration in Ronaldo" – Siraj Opens Up on How Cristiano Made Him ‘Believe’

It is well known that India’s pace bowler Mohammed Siraj is a big fan of football star Cristiano Ronaldo. He is one of the few bowlers who copies the Portuguese legend’s ‘Siuu’ celebration after taking a wicket.

On Monday, soon after winning the player-of-the-match award in India’s 6-run victory over England in the fifth Test at The Oval, Siraj shared how he got inspiration from Ronaldo before going onto the field.

The Indian pacer showed his phone wallpaper after playing a key role in India’s 6-run win over England in the fifth and final Test at The Oval. The victory helped India level the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 2-2 on Monday. The wallpaper featured Cristiano Ronaldo and one word that became his motivation — ‘Believe’.

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Siraj Finds Inspiration in Ronaldo

"Usually I get up at 8 am, but today I woke up at 6. Then I kept thinking, so I went on Google, found this image, and made it my wallpaper," Siraj said, showing his phone with a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating a goal and the word ‘Believe’ written across it.

"I knew I could do it," Siraj said about his five-wicket haul, which included three wickets in one hour on the final day to turn the match in India’s favour. "I always say, be honest in your game and believe you can do it. Belief is very important for a professional player, nothing is possible without it."

When he was pushing himself with an 80-over-old Dukes ball, troubling the English batters, Ravindra Jadeja gave him some emotional motivation. "Jaddu bhai said, think about your late father and the hardships he faced. Win this for him," Siraj recalled at the presentation.

A Match-Winning Performance

After bowling 185.3 overs and taking 23 wickets in the series — often without Jasprit Bumrah by his side — Siraj has built his own legacy. "My body is fine… I don’t care if it’s my sixth over or my ninth. I don’t bowl for myself, I bowl for my country," he said. "I have worked hard with good intentions and never wish bad for anyone. When you are one of 11 players selected from 1.4 billion people, it’s a big thing. I always think about how I can perform my best for my country."

Siraj finished with figures of 5 for 104 in 30.1 overs and a match haul of nine wickets, consistently troubling the English batters throughout the game.