“Mohammed Siraj Belongs To Higher Class”- Ex-World Cup Winner Lauds Pacer

The former World Cup winner from the 1983 event, Madan Lal, has praised one of India’s current premier pacers, Mohammed Siraj, for his incredible performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

That was a great return from the pacer after missing out on the Champions Trophy 2025 squad. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors decided to go with just two pacers, Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana, in a spin-heavy squad as they went on to win the event against New Zealand in the final.

Madan Lal praises Mohammed Siraj’s bowling performance vs GT

The former Indian pacer, Madan Lal, reckoned that it was wrong for the selection committee to leave out Siraj from the Indian squad. He also addressed the bowler as a defiant bowler who belongs to the higher class of the game.

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“Mohammed Siraj looks like a defiant bowler because he wants to prove that he belongs to a higher class of cricket. Dropping players doesn’t solve problems.” Lal wrote on his X handle (formerly known as Twitter).

Siraj was the fourth leading run-getter of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 with 20 scalps in 10 innings at an average of 31.15 and a strike rate of around eight overs, shouldering on the best bowling figures of 4/98 in an inning.

He bowled with aggression for the entire series before getting dropped from the ICC event. During the squad selection for the 50-over competition, the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, highlighted that Mohammed Siraj doesn’t have the same ability to bowl in the middle overs as he does with the new ball in the powerplay.

“The body is fresh”- Mohammed Siraj after his best IPL performance

The Gujarat Titans fast bowler, Mohammed Siraj, feels that the break after the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 helped him get refreshed for the IPL 2025.

“When I had a rest, I worked a lot on my bowling, my fitness, and my mentality. My body is fresh, so I am enjoying my bowling. The ball is coming out of my hand much better." The Hyderabad-born pacer addressed.

“If the ball tails in a bit, it is a wicket. When there is no saliva, the ball comes onto the bat easily and makes it easy for the batters. This rule makes it much better for the bowlers.” Mohammed Siraj highlighted.

The fast bowler feels that the early swing in the game helped them take an early advantage. On a slow wicket, he looked to attack the stumps.

“A little bit of tail in, and the chances for LBW and bowled increase. The wicket is slow. I tried to swing it a little at the start, but it did not happen. The more you attack the stumps, the better it is.” Mohammed Siraj concluded.

M . Siraj looks a defiant bowler because he want to prove that he belongs to higher class of cricket . Dropping players doesn’t solve problems.

— Madan Lal (@MadanLal1983) April 6, 2025

Mohammed Siraj earns successive Player of the Match awards

Siraj is coming into the game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium after his phenomenal show against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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At his home ground, he sent back Travis Head on the last ball of the very first over before picking the wicket of Abhishek Sharma. He also trapped Aniket Verma plumb before the stumps to end with figures of 4/17 in four overs at an economy rate of 4.20.

He hopes to carry the same form against the Rajasthan Royals at their home venue, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.