Former India opener Virender Sehwag has criticised Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for letting Mohammed Siraj go and also made a scathing attack on former captains Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis for not utilising the bowler effectively during the powerplay, where he was most effective.
“In franchise cricket, there is no guarantee that a team will retain you. He has gone to Gujarat, and in three years, they might not retain him as well. Players need to get used to it,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz before the match on Wednesday.
“Today, when he plays against RCB, the franchise where he has spent seven years, he will play to prove a point. You let me go, and now I will get the wickets of your batters.
“Against MI, he dismissed Rohit Sharma. He was not picked for the Champions Trophy, and he got the wicket of the Indian captain. He will be determined to perform well against RCB so that the franchise realizes what they have missed.”
“RCB missed a trick by letting Siraj go. His stats are so good in the powerplays. It was in the death overs where he struggled.
“Take an example of how MS Dhoni used Deepak Chahar over the years; he used to bowl him out inside the powerplay. Rajasthan Royals used to do a similar thing with Trent Boult. They never had to bowl him in the death overs.
“RCB captains over the years failed to make the most out of Mohammed Siraj. In the last overs, every bowler will get hit. I have not seen any bowler who has not conceded runs in the slog overs, be it Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Shami, or Jasprit Bumrah; everyone concedes runs in the last over.”
Returning to M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Siraj bagged the Player of the Match award with his exceptional spell of 3 for 19, setting up a convincing eight-wicket win for Gujarat Titans against RCB.
“It was a bit emotional because I played in the red jersey for 7 years. But as soon as I got the ball in my hand, it was full on,” Siraj told the broadcasters later.
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