Ambati Rayudu Reveals A Scintillating Change That Propelled Mohammed Siraj's Comeback
Published - 07 Apr 2025, 05:10 PM | Updated - 07 Apr 2025, 05:22 PM
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One of the sensational performers for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 is Mohammed Siraj, who has bowled with so much control in the last two games, especially against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, to earn two successive player of the match awards.
The Hyderabad-born picked up three wickets for 19 runs in just four overs against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He repeated the same golden performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Uppal Stadium with 4/18 in four overs.
Ambati Rayudu credits Mohammed Siraj’s wrist position for sensational comeback
The former Indian batter, Ambati Rayudu, is satisfied to see Mohammed Siraj making an impression in the IPL after being left out of India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad. India went with two pacers, Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami, in the spin-heavy squad that went on to win the title, beating New Zealand in Dubai.
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“I am purely elated because Mohammed Siraj is from Hyderabad, and I have seen him grow up, and he is amazing. The way he has come back after the selectors left him out of the Indian side is quite amazing.” Rayudu expressed this during a recent interaction on ESPNcricinfo.
The former CSK batter feels that Siraj’s wrist position has been far better than what it was during the five-match Test series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 down under.
“We spoke earlier about how Mohammed Siraj's wrist position changed, and now he was so happy looking at the ball reverse swing, which he has been quite capable of doing. He is very good at it. You can see he is enjoying his cricket, and I think there are more good days to come.” Rayudu explained.
Ian Bishop reflects on the importance of pitches in T20s
Mohammed Siraj noted that he worked on his fitness and got refreshed during the break he got since the end of the Australian tour and the start of the IPL.
The right-arm pacer, who dismissed Travis Head on the sixth ball of the opening wicket besides adding Abhishek Sharma and Aniket Verma to the list, has thanked the return of saliva in the game.
“If the ball tails in a bit, it is a wicket. When there is no saliva, the ball comes onto the bat easily and making it easy for the batters. This rule makes it much better for the bowlers.” Mohammed Siraj reflected.
The former West Indies pacer, Ian Bishop, has also lauded the recent surfaces where even putting 200 has not been an easy job. He feels the tracks would be vital in readdressing the bat dominance.
“We came into the IPL talking. They (Sunrisers Hyderabad) came talking about 300, and it is a batters’ game, and for the last, the numbers one has got.” Bishop explained.
“I am sure as long as there is something in the pitches, the bowlers are in the game big time. And it readdresses the balance of the side that we are seeing of bat domination.” The lanky pacer added.
Mohammad Siraj eyes England tour for India’s red-ball series
Mohammad Siraj is currently the third leading wicket-taker of the IPL 2025 with nine scalps in four innings at an average of 13.77 and an economy rate of 7.75.
He was the fourth-highest wicket-taker for India in the BGT 2024-25 and hopes to continue the good work during their upcoming 2025 away trip for the five-match Test series against England.
