Seven seasons. That’s how long Mohammed Siraj was with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The right-arm pacer was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad, his home franchise, in 2017, but to him, there was only one Indian Premier League (IPL) home, RCB. Yet, not once did the franchise bid for the 30-year-old pacer. One has to wonder why.
From Rs 2 crore, Siraj went all the way to Rs 12.25 crore, with the Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans, and Rajasthan Royals all showing interest. But not once did the RCB paddle go up at the IPL 2025 mega auction. Fans of the franchise were furious. Loyalty has been something they have talked about. Virat Kohli staying with the franchise since 2008 is the prime example, but then why was no love shown to Siraj?
IPL 2025: Why RCB had to let Mohammed Siraj go
The answer might be hurtful but correct. The truth is, Siraj isn’t worth whatever is paid to him. Definitely not to RCB. Not to take a shot at the pacer but his record doesn’t suggest RCB should have retained him for Rs 11 crore. Once it was decided he wasn’t staying back, there was no point in bidding for him, especially after the price soared high.
At 30, Siraj should be in his prime. But his record would suggest otherwise. He’d made his T20I debut for India a year before joining RCB but has played just 16 matches. He was taken to the T20 World Cup 2024 as well but featured in just three games, two of which were against Ireland and the USA. Outside of IPL, he doesn’t really have a T20 career. As an all-format bowler, he hasn’t played domestic cricket in a while and doesn’t play T20Is either.
This makes judging him much easier. Because apart from IPL, he hardly plays T20s. And his record in the league and for the RCB isn’t flattering. His wicket-to-match ratio isn’t even one. Considering he plays half of his matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, his economy is fine, but neither his average nor his strike rate are applaud worthy. Not exactly want from your strike bowler, who’s also the most experienced by now.
Mohammed Siraj’s RCB stats
| Span | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 4w |
| 2018-2024 | 87 | 83 | 31.44 | 8.60 | 21.92 | 1 |
In his second IPL year and debut season with RCB, Yash Dayal out-bowled Siraj. The left-arm pacer was trusted over the veteran pacer in death overs often. Seven years of investment haven’t borne the fruit that RCB would have liked. Siraj’s their third-highest wicket-taker, but there were times last season when you thought why wasn’t he getting dropped?
Take this for example: in the first 8 matches of IPL 2024, Siraj had just 2 wickets in the powerplay. Seen as a new ball specialist, he averaged nearly 80. He made a comeback at the back end of the season, but one might argue that he was a little late as RCB missed the playoff berth by a sliver.
RCB had to realise that Siraj might never be what they expected of him. It’s taken them some time, but they are here now.
RCB squad for IPL 2025
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone✈️, Phil Salt✈️, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood✈️, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David✈️, Romario Shepherd✈️, Nuwan Thushara✈️, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell✈️, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
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