Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan lauded star RCB pacer Mohammed Siraj for his resurgent bowling in the IPL 2023.
Pathan said that Siraj has bowled brilliantly in the powerplay and has made a difference for the franchise.
“Mohammed Siraj has bowled excellently in the powerplay this season for RCB. He’s really making a difference for them,” Pathan said on Star Sports.
“There is a big and positive difference in his bowling compared to last year. That is why his responsibility has increased, being the premier seamer in the team,” he added.
The 29-year-old is constantly in the race of purple cap and is currently the bowler with second most wickets of the tournament. He has 12 wickets in 6 matches with an economy of 6.70 to his credit.
Currently, Punjab Kings’ Arshdeep Singh is the purple cap holder with 13 wickets and if Siraj manages to scalp even a single wicket today, he will don the cap again.
In their clash against Punjab Kings in Mohali on Thursday, Siraj was the pick of the bowlers for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their 24-run beating of the hosts.
The right arm pacer returned with figures of 4/21 as RCB restricted PBKS to 150 in their chase of 174. His best bowling figures in IPL.
Earlier, speaking about his form, Siraj said, “My last IPL did not go well. I was thinking that now I am part of the Indian team. The things I wanted to execute I was not able to execute. I also wanted to play all three formats.”
Adding on his routine ahead of a match, he revealed, “When I come to the ground first thing I do is do my routines and warm-ups properly. Warm-ups are not easy but they make me feel stronger and I concentrate on my bowling rhythm and whether the ball is coming out of my hand nicely or not. After that slowly the rhythm builds up.”
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