According to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson, Mohammed Siraj’s volume of one-day cricket has helped improve his skills for the T20 format. Hesson believes the right-arm seamer has progressed dramatically since his dismal 2022 season. Siraj, the 3rd highest wicket-taker, has been extremely productive with the new ball, setting the tone for RCB.
This season, the 28-year-old has 14 wickets at an average of 16.64, featuring quick run-scorers Jos Buttler, Ishan Kishan, Kyle Mayers, Atharva Taide, and Liam Livingstone.
In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, the 48-year-old said that Siraj’s diligence in following the procedure has made a huge impact and that the seamer has utilised all of the change-ups pretty successfully.
“Siraj has played a lot of ODI cricket. That’s where you’ve got to repeat your core skills. He has become very good at those. When you get confident doing that, you can repeat them; if you’re not, you can go searching a little bit. He’s been exceptionally good at what he does.”
“His seam presentation is as good as I’ve seen it, with both his outswing and his three-quarter ball, and he’s bowling a good bouncer. I’m delighted for Siraj. Everyone knows he had a tough year last year but the fact he’s been really good for India – he’s one of their first picks in white-ball cricket – has flowed into his work here.”
Hesson Said
Siraj was identified by Hesson as the attack’s mastermind:
“He’s thrived on it from the very first game. We gave Siraj the first over and said, “Look, you are the leader of our attack.” He thrives under that sort of confidence. Every time I’ve asked him to deliver in the powerplay, he has set the tone for us.”
Josh Hazlewood, an Australian seamer, has been the RCB’s lone weak link so far in IPL 2023 due to an Achilles injury. However, the right-arm bowler has begun training and may soon be available.
Mike Hesson on Josh Hazlewood: “We invested a lot of money in him”
When asked how much of a difference Hazlewood’s comeback will make, Hesson highlighted the effectiveness of players like Reece, Wayne, and David.
“He will make a difference. But also to be fair to Topley, Parnell and Willey, they’ve been really good for us. When you miss a guy of Hazlewood’s quality… obviously we invested a lot of money in him, because we knew he’d do that job, so the fact that our back-up bowlers have done such a good job is exciting for us.”
RCB will next face the Lucknow Super Giants on 1st May in an away game. They currently have 4 wins and 4 losses.