Telangana state police bestowed Siraj with an honorary 'DSP' position last year.
Social media was flooded with ‘DSP’ jokes after India pacer Mohammed Siraj inspected England batter Ollie Pope’s bat on Day 2 of the first Test match at Headingley, Leeds.
In a video shared by Star Sports on social media, Pope’s Gray-Nicolls can be seen leaning on the stumps during a drinks break.
Siraj walked towards the stumps, picked up the willow, took his guard and then checked it again before putting it back where it was.
Here’s the video:
In October 2024, Telangana state police bestowed Siraj with an honorary position of Deputy Superintendent of Police, recognizing his achievements as a cricketer.
As soon as the news emerged, ‘DSP’ memes on Siraj started doing rounds on the internet. The humor also spilled to the cricket field, with crowds during IPL chanting, ‘DSP’ when he’s involved.
Coming to the Leeds Test, India squandered the advantage on Day 2 to be bowled out for 471 in their first innings. The visitors lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs.
Shubman Gill (147 off 227), Rishabh Pant (134 off 178) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (101 off 159) scored centuries for India at Headingley. Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes scalped four wickets each for England.
Riding on Ollie Pope’s unbeaten hundred (100*), the hosts ended the second day at 209/3, trailing India by 262 runs.