Mohammed Siraj Reacts to Champions Trophy Snub | His Response & Mindset

Mohammed Siraj Reacts to Champions Trophy Snub | His Response & Mindset

How Siraj is responding to losing his place in the Champions Trophy

Revival in his hometown!

This can be said after watching Mohammed Siraj's bowling last night. Siraj came out to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in his hometown Hyderabad. This Gujarat Titans pacer took 4 wickets for 17 runs. This is his best bowling in his 97-match IPL career.

Thanks to Siraj's excellent bowling, Gujarat was able to restrict Hyderabad, who had been showing an aggressive batting message from the beginning, to 152 runs. Later, they successfully chased the target with 20 balls and 7 wickets remaining. With this win, Gujarat rose to second place in the points table.

Siraj, who made a difference with the ball, won the Man of the Match award. The 31-year-old pacer also expressed his sadness while accepting the award yesterday.

He was not included in the Indian team for the ICC Champions Trophy. He could not accept it at first, "I could not digest it. But I kept my spirits up and worked on improving my fitness and game. I worked more on the mistakes I made in bowling. Now I am enjoying my bowling."

Mohammed Siraj , who was dropped from the Indian team, saw this year's IPL as a platform to prove himself, "As a professional (cricketer) when you are dropped after playing consistently for India, you will have doubts. But I motivated myself and was eagerly waiting for the IPL."

Family members went to watch Siraj play at home yesterday, which motivated him even more, "It is a special feeling when you play at your own ground. My family was also in the crowd. That encouraged me."

Mohammed Siraj also reached the milestone of 100 wickets in the IPL yesterday as the 19th Indian bowler and the 26th overall. The pacer, who started the match with 98 wickets, now has 102 wickets. Travis Head, who had been a terror to bowlers for a couple of years, was bowled out in the first over. He reached 100 wickets by dismissing another opener, Abhishek Sharma, in the powerplay. He came in and took two more wickets towards the end.

Before Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans played against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mohammed Siraj took 3 wickets for 19 runs in that match last Wednesday. He was also named Man of the Match that day.

Interestingly, Hyderabad and Bengaluru are both Mohammed Siraj's former teams. He played for his hometown Hyderabad franchise from his debut season in the IPL in 2015 to 2017. He played for Bengaluru from 2018 to 2024.
Although Mohammed Siraj had a chance to retain him before the last mega auction, Bengaluru released him. Bengaluru and Hyderabad did not call him even once in the auction.

After a brief stint with Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, Mohammed Siraj was bought by Gujarat Titans for Rs 12.25 crore. He has repaid the trust in Gujarat by being named Man of the Match in his last two matches against his former two teams.

Mohammed Siraj must have wanted to give his answer like this!