Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was at his best during the Gujarat Titans’ second match of IPL 2025, played against the Mumbai Indians at Ahmedabad. Siraj was fiery in his new ball spell and dismissed both the openers to leave the game open.
After the match, Cheteshwar Pujara and Wasim Jaffer discussed the world-class new-ball spell from Mohammed Siraj. Both the experts feel that Siraj was raring to go after his omission from India’s Champions Trophy squad.
Also read: Riyan Parag to be made permanent Rajasthan Royals’ captain? Rahul Dravid drops the biggest hint!!
Cheteshwar Pujara, Wasim Jaffer on Mohammed Siraj’s performance
While speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Cheteshwar Pujara and Wasim Jaffer spoke about the Gujarat Titans’ emphatic win over the Mumbai Indians. When asked about Mohammed Siraj’s spell, Pujara claimed that Siraj is back after a period when things weren’t going well for him.
“I think he is fired up again. There was a time when it looked like his body was tired, but now it looks like he is fresh and ready to go again. He is someone who is quite emotional, so there are times when something doesn’t go his way, he is always up for that battle,” Pujara noted.
Has the Champions Trophy omission fired up Siraj? ⚡#TimeOut pic.twitter.com/BjESJM6JCr
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 30, 2025
Wasim Jaffer also referred to Siraj’s performance to his omission from India’s Champions Trophy squad. He feels that Siraj is absolutely fired up after the omission, as there is something to prove for him.
“Bowling to the Indian captain, he wasn’t in the squad. A guy who has picked up the most wickets in that period. So yeah, there’s a reason for him to be charged up,” Jaffer added.
Why was Mohamed Siraj dropped from India’s CT 2025 squad?
Despite being a regular part of India’s ODI team over the years, Mohammed Siraj was dropped from the team’s Champions Trophy squad as the team management picked youngsters like Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh over him
When Siraj wasn’t picked in the squad, skipper Rohit Sharma was asked about the reason for omitting him. Rohit reasoned that his lack of penetration with the old ball forced him to leave Siraj out of the squad.
Mohammed Siraj’s impressive comeback
Siraj picked up the big wickets of Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickleton in his new ball spell to dent Mumbai’s hopes of chasing down a stiff target. After getting hit for two fours from Rohit Sharma, Siraj dismissed him off the fourth ball of the first over of the innings for 8.
The fast bowler kept bowling challenging lines and attacked the stumps most of the time. He finally got the reward by picking up the wicket of the other opener, Ryan Rickelton, as he inside edged the ball onto the stumps. Rickelton was removed for just 6 runs.
Siraj finished with 2-34 in four overs. Gujarat Titans had a fantastic bowling performance as they bundled Mumbai out for just 160-6 in their pursuit of the target of 197 runs. Alongside Siraj, Prasidh Krishna also had a good day as he finished with 2-18 in four overs.
