Happy and enjoying his cricket, Mohammed Siraj puts nightmarish 2022 IPL behind him

RCB's Mohammad Siraj

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Mohammed Siraj has been sensational in this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Not only has he taken 7 wickets in his first four outings, but his economy rate has also been well below 7 (6.88) runs per over.

Of course, these are early days but it appears Siraj is going to replicate his best IPL season in 2021 when he conceded less than 7 runs (6.78) an over in 15 matches.

Siraj was instrumental in RCB’s eight-wicket win against Mumbai Indians (MI), which kickstarted their campaign at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Siraj was at his belligerent best and former New Zealand pacer and MI bowling coach Shane Bond voiced his admiration for Siraj.

"I thought the game was set up by Mohammed Siraj and we were always on the backfoot. First three overs from Siraj, he didn’t give away any width. He used his bouncers beautifully. He gave us nothing to hit, forced us to play some shots and got wickets from it," Bond said.

In the next game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata, Siraj was expensive (1 for 44) and it revived memories of the nightmarish experience of IPL 2022 when he conceded more than 10 (10.08) runs per over and could only take 9 wickets in 15 matches.

Coming back strong 

However, the pacer came back strongly in his next two matches against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) by taking 5 wickets and conceding just 45 runs.

Siraj, like every bowler in the world, knows that it is not easy to be consistent in the T20 format where margin for error is minimal for a pace bowler.  Yet, he seemed hurt when toxic fans trolled him after the bad days.

“One day they call you the future of India, the next day they claim you are nothing and should drive an auto. I don’t understand this," Siraj said, sharing his experience of trolls in a recent RCB podcast.

Siraj in many ways is uniquely placed among Indian pace bowlers. He may not be as crafty or as experienced as Mohammed Shami. Nor is he regarded as skillful as Jasprit Bumrah who, when fully fit, is indispensable in every format of the game.  And yet, he is now the go-to bowler for Rohit Sharma in Test cricket as well as in ODI cricket.

The 29-year-old’s red-ball potential was never in doubt since he made his Test debut. Yet, it is his progress in white ball cricket, especially the One-Day International (ODI) that has pleasantly surprised many.

Enjoying his cricket

Currently, he is the only Indian bowler in the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings for players at number 3. Not too many weeks ago, he was number one in this format.

When asked what has worked out well this year with his bowling, Siraj, who has been magical with the new ball, revealed that he is enjoying his performances.

“The process is the same, but I've changed my mind. I used to think too much about what other people thought of me and I focused on that over my bowling. I'm enjoying my bowling this year and staying in the present, which is helping me take wickets," the RCB bowler said in an interview to his franchise’s social media platform.

Siraj’s journey in Indian cricket is nothing short of a fairy tale. The son of an autorickshaw driver in Hyderabad, he hadn’t bowled with a cricket ball until 2015. And, since then his story is well documented and perhaps worthy of a movie too. In 2017, from a base price of Rs. 20 lakh, he eventually got an IPL contract worth Rs. 2.6 crore because Sunrisers Hyderabad’s head coach Tom Moody and VVS Laxman wanted him at any cost.

He soon made his T20I debut against New Zealand. Ironically, this is the one format where he has played the least (8) matches in nearly 7 years. If Siraj has another fine season in IPL, his T20I numbers is likely to increase in coming months as he has been very impressive with the white ball in 50-over cricket.

Bodes well for the World Cup 

“He has taken the maximum number of wickets in the powerplay, which was an issue for us early. He is always making the batters think, which is a great sign for us going into the World Cup,” Rohit Sharma said after the Sri Lanka ODI series earlier this year.

Siraj may have missed out on a five-wicket haul in that series, but the skipper was very happy for him.

“He is a rare talent, the way he has come up over the last few years is good to see. He has come from strength to strength and that’s really good for Indian cricket,” added Sharma.

Siraj has been a regular in Test cricket especially overseas and after Bumrah’s injury he has been re-drafted in the ODI set-up. After a three-year hiatus from the 50-over format to the pinnacle of the No. 1 ODI bowler, Siraj has once again proved that he is hungry for success and team management thinks he is a real asset for the national team.

“I have seen him from the India A set-up. He did exceedingly well with the red ball. He used to get the ball in but has worked on his seam position to get the ball away. He is a very important member of the team not only for the World Cup but beyond that as well,” India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said earlier this year.

And yet, Siraj is not someone who is getting carried away by the nice words being spoken about him.  Especially, the mood swings of fans during IPL has made him a little philosophical.

Coping with fans’ mood swings 

“When you perform well, people start praising you so much -- you are such a good bowler, next level. When I was retained, it was called as the best retention. Now they question why I was retained -- there was no need for you to be retained. You aren’t good enough to play cricket," Siraj said in that RCB podcast.

Over the last half-a-dozen years, Siraj has come a long way in life from those dusty lanes of Hyderabad to the high-profile world of Indian cricket. And yet, he hasn’t changed much and still is the same shy and down-to-earth person. The only things which worry him more than the assault from aggressive batsmen is the trolling on social media.

“Thank you for all the support but don’t abuse anyone. Ups and downs are part of life. That’s all I can say. Rest is up to you. You are aware of our struggle, still you behave like that with us. That doesn’t affect us much, but as a human all I can ask from you is respect everyone," said the RCB fast bowler.

Regardless of his IPL form, Indian fans need to keep faith in Siraj’s ability and support him; he is going to be a key figure for Team India in the World Test Championship final in England in the first week of June.