With Mohammed Siraj playing 87 matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru prior to last year’s IPL mega auction and being the leading pacer in RCB’s dugout, it was expected that the team will use the Right to Match (RTM) option for the Indian pacer in the mega auction in Saudi Arabia last year. Instead, Siraj was bought by Gujarat Titans for Rs 12.5 crore and the Hyderabad native played the IPL this year for the Gujarat side taking 16 wickets in 15 matches. RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat has now revealed why the team did not go for Siraj in last year’s mega-auction and how the team spent the longest time deliberating about Siraj in the auction.
“Similar with Siraj, another person I really admire and respect and it’s been brilliant seeing him do well in the Test series here (in England) and he had a pretty decent season in the IPL too. He’s probably the player that we spent the longest deliberating over. Indian international bowlers aren’t that easy to get. We spent a lot of time weighing up whether we wanted to retain him, release him, would we consider trying to go back for him at the auction, is he a Right To Match? We discussed every eventuality with him. But both were tricky decisions, and for various reasons, we obviously decided to move on from those guys and try something different,” Bobat told Cribuzz in an interview.
Siraj, who was first picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017, was picked up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL auction for Rs 2.6 crore in 2018. Since then, Siraj played in 87 IPL matches for the Bengaluru franchise taking 83 wickets and becoming the their-highest wicket-taker in the team’s history. With RCB not taking the RTM option for the Indian pacer in the IPL mega-auction last year, Siraj had shared about his moments spent with RCB post the auction. “To my dear RCB, Saat saal RCB ke saath mere dil ke bahut kareeb hai (The 7 years with RCB are close to my heart) As I take look back on my time in an RCB shirt my heart is full of gratitude, love and emotion. The day I first wore the RCB jersey, I never imagined the bond we would form. From the first ball I bowled in RCB colours, to every wicket taken, every match played, every moment shared with you, the journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. There have been ups and downs, but through it all, one thing has been constant: your unwavering support. RCB is more than just a franchise; it’s a feeling, a heartbeat, a family that feels like home,” Siraj had posted on Instagram.
The Indian pacer was the leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Bobat also spoke about how the team was keen to get Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and how the team’s think tank believed that remainingvwith Siraj will make that decision a difficult one. “We were keen to try and get Bhuvi (for two ends of the innings), and we felt like hanging on to Siraj would make it difficult, so that was something that we thought about as well. A number of things come into it; it’s never just one reason,” Bobat added.
