Thought my IPL career was over after the 2019 season, says Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has so far scalped 50 wickets from 50 IPL matches
|| Courtesy - Twitter
Mohammed Siraj has revealed that he thought his Indian Premier League (IPL) career was over after a disappointing 2019 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Indian speedster further added that MS Dhoni's words helped him to overcome negativity during the tough phase of his career.
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be an exciting season with 10 teams in contention for the coveted trophy. Ahead of the upcoming season of IPL, a mega auction is scheduled on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. The 10 franchises have already submitted their retentions ahead of the IPL 2022, and the teams will look forward to building strong squads through their picks in the mega auction.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj ahead of the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league. Siraj has been an exceptional bowler for the Bangalore-based franchise, but the speedster had a disappointing outing in the 2019 season of the IPL. The 27-year-old conceded runs at an economy of 9.55 and scalped only seven wickets from nine matches, that he played for RCB in the 2019 season. In a fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders in the same season, Siraj conceded 36 runs in 2.2 overs, and was forced out of the attack after bowling two beamers.
Meanwhile, Siraj has revealed that he thought his IPL career was over after a poor outing for RCB in the 2019 season of the lucrative league. The speedster further added that the Bangalore-based franchise backed him despite his disappointing performance in the same season.
"2019 the performance with RCB was so bad that I thought that is the end of my IPL career. But then I realized that I still have age on my side. So I decided to trust myself a bit and thankfully the RCB management also backed me. I almost thought any franchise in their position would have let go of a bowler after that kind of performance, but they backed me, and then 2020 the game against KKR was a life-changing game for me," Siraj said on the 'RCB Podcast'.
Siraj reckoned that words from former Indian captain MS Dhoni helped him to overcome negativity and criticisms during the tough phase of his career.
"When I bowled those two beamers against KKR, people said 'quit cricket and go back and drive autos with your father'. There were so many such comments. And people don't see the struggle behind all this. But I remember when I first got selected how MS Dhoni told me to not listen to everything the people have to say about me.
'You do well today and they'll praise you and when you don't the same people will abuse you. So don't ever take it seriously.' And yes, the same people who trolled me incessantly back then say 'you're the best bowler bhai'. So, I know. I don't want anybody's opinion. I'm the same Siraj I was back then," he added.
