IPL 2022: RCB’s Mohammed Siraj opens up after dismal
IPL 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Mohammed Siraj who had a bad run in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League, dismissed it as a phase in his career.
Siraj retained by RCB for Rs 7 crore ahead of the IPL 2022 season, although he only gave 514 runs in 15 matches and only took 9 wickets.
“I had performed really well in the last two seasons of IPL, and this is the same Mohammed Siraj who could not do much in this season. This is phase which comes in every player’s life. If one’s graph does not fluctuate, then it gets really dull. A good career is always full of ups and downs,” Siraj told ANI.
During the Qualifier 2 match against Rajasthan Royals, the 28-year-old bowler also set the record for conceding the most sixes (31) in a single IPL season, when he smacked for three sixes in two overs and finished his wicketless spell with 31 runs.
IPL 2022 also opened the door for young pacers like Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Umran Malik and Punjab Kings’ Arshdeep Singh. They both received their first Team India call-ups for the T20I series against South Africa.
Siraj, who spoke about Arshdeep and Umran at the trailer presentation of Voot Select’s web series ‘Bandon Mein Tha Dum,’ which depicts the voyage of India’s 2020/21 tour of Australia, also mentioned Arshdeep and Umran.
“IPL is a platform which always give young players a chance to prove themselves. Currently, the pace attack of India is really strong. Earlier, it used to be a rare thing for a bowler to bowl at 140 kmph. But now we have some bowlers who can do that,” said Siraj.
“Arshdeep is a great pacer, the way he bowls his Yorkers is just fabulous. Umran is a talented guy, who is getting appreciated for his amazing pace. I would like to advise them to focus on their fitness. And not to think much about anything else,” he added.
From June 9, 2022, India and South Africa will face off in a T20I series in Delhi.
Due to the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the series. Team India will headed by KL Rahul, with Rishabh Pant as vice-captain.