May 6 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Mohammed Siraj loves the new ball. You could see that from the twinkle in his eyes when he was choosing the ball from a pack of kookaburras held by the fourth umpire before the IPL match against Gujarat Titans on Saturday.
It’s difficult to say why. For the new ball hardly swings in a T20. It’s more understandable in ODIs where some of Siraj’s best spells have come with the new ball. His 6/21 in the 2023 Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka stands out. Siraj bowled with the new ball all through last year’s ODI World Cup, except the final.
Some bowlers simply like the feel of a shiny ball more. Hear Siraj talk and he never hides his preference. Making the most of a M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch which had bounce, he made the new ball talk.
For the fourth time in seven face-offs, he got Wriddhiman Saha out. He had visualised he would get the right-hander to nick to the wicketkeeper with an away swinger, said Siraj. “That is exactly the way it panned out. I should have visualised something even better…5 wickets,” he said at the presentation after the four-wicket win.
In his two-over new-ball burst, he got one to leave Shubman Gill and ended his stay by catching his top-edge. He cut big-hitter Shahrukh Khan in half with one which tailed in sharply, without luck. But Siraj was back. His rhythm was back. In the first seven matches he bowled for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Siraj’s figures were 5/269 at an Economy Rate of 10.34. In the last three matches, his returns have been 3/83 at an ER of 6.91.
“All the practice time I had been putting in with the new ball, I found success now. I hadn’t been bowling as (well) with the new ball. That’s been my strength. Last year, I had been picking a lot of wickets with the new ball. It brought back memories of last year,” said Siraj. In the last IPL, Siraj had picked up 10 powerplay wickets at an ER of 5.93 and a strike rate of 18.
With a lack of bite in his bowling, Siraj was even dropped from a match. It was the game where Sunrisers Hyderabad amassed a record 287, and hence Siraj wouldn’t have complained.
The missing rhythm Siraj attributed to coming off a long spell of red-ball bowling. He made a telling point on why the switch to T20 cricket isn’t as easy. “You have to give 110 percent to every ball,” he said, suggesting how every delivery counts even if the workload may be less. “In Test matches, you can sometimes release (intensity).”
Siraj has bowled more productive spells before. But he will remember his 4-0-29-4 against GT fondly in being able to deliver despite a stomach bug. “Aaj nahi ho payega, Siraj,” was the first thought that came to his mind. Then he revealed how he convinced himself to play, not waste an opportunity to prepare for the T20 World Cup.
Even when he’s off-colour, his spirit to run in hard, to search for wickets, is unwavering. It’s one of the reasons captains don’t give up on him easily. It’s also why the Indian selectors had locked in his name for next month’s world event in the West Indies and USA, even when he was far from his best.
In an inexperienced RCB bowling attack, Siraj is a vital cog. “He’s the leader of our group…the most experienced bowler. It’s not just him bowling well, his aggression, his body language (all matter). Him taking the batters on and trying to take wickets is such an important part of what we do,” said RCB bowling coach Adam Griffith.
In Test cricket, Siraj’s the first one to put his hand up to bowl long spells. In white-ball cricket, he just wants the new ball. With his undying spirit, why would you not fulfil his wish. “Agar aap main, bowler ho, to ek taang pe khelna bhi zaroori hai (if there is a bowler in you, it is important to play even on one leg),” he said in his typical Hyderabadi style.
