Form is temporary, Siraj’s heart is permanent

Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru had not won a game for exactly one month after their win over Punjab Kings on March 25. They have won three in a row since to raise faint hopes of a spot in the play-offs. 

Mohammed Siraj had conceded more than 40 runs thrice and over 35 runs thrice in the first seven games this season. That one game he did well came against the Kings on March 25. 

In the last three games, he has been back to his best with respectable figures of 0 for 20 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad (obviously), 1 for 34 against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad and 2 for 29 against the Titans in a reverse fixture at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday night. 

As reductive as this might seem, there is reason enough to believe that when Siraj bowls as he is expected to, RCB will win. The four wins and the pacer’s returns in those four games are enough for such an inference. 

Actually, with Siraj, it’s not even the numbers that matter, it’s his essence. He has a seldom-seen and rarely-teachable reverence for life which rubs off on those around him. The same holds true for when he isn’t feeling it because those in his presence tend to internalise the lacuna Siraj spirals into. 

“He’s like any other player when they are fatigued,” said RCB’s assistant coach Adam Griffith after his side’s four-wicket win over the Titans. 

“It’s very important to give them that break. That’s just as important as the training component, sometimes even more important. He is a rhythm bowler – his run-up is so important to what he does. So, we want him fresh and running in hard. He knows what he needs to do to prepare and every now and then we might need to give him a little bit of a push in that direction.”

The break Griffith is referring to is a small but significant stretch between April 11 and April 21. Also, the one game he happened to miss is the one where Hyderabad put up the highest-ever total in IPL history (287/3).

Anyway, now that he’s back with his joi de vivre in tow, it’s grand news for RCB. Better yet, it’s news India can rejoice in because Siraj’s form over a month was demoralising those in the business of Indian cricket. 

Given that Mohammed Shami is injured and there are only so many quality white-ball pacers doing the rounds, Siraj’s role assumed significance in the lead up to the 20-over World Cup in the Americas. 

He doesn’t have the best record in Twenty 20 International cricket with 12 wickets from 10 games at an economy of 8.78 and a strike rate of 19, but Siraj has mastered the art of transferable skills so he is an all-format bowler irrespective of the deceptive stat line. 

This is why the Indian team depends on him in Tests where he has 74 wickets from 27 games, and the same in One-Day Internationals where he has 68 wickets from 41 games. Moreover, his record in T20s overall is 151 wickets from 131 games. That’s hardly bad. But, this isn’t why the Indian team needs Siraj. The following quote is a more accurate descriptor of why he is required. 

“I was really ill for the last few days, thought I might not be able to play today but I really wanted to play so it was great that I was able to. Got the success today after practising a lot with the new ball this year. Reminded me of last year,” Siraj said after the game against the Titans on Saturday. 

“When I woke up in the morning, I thought I wouldn’t be able to play and that I should take rest. When I woke up, I manifested what I wanted to do and that’s exactly what happened. Not easy to switch between red and white-ball cricket. You need to give your 110 per cent every ball here.”

Trust him to do that every time he sets on the field because the man is a blue-collar throwback at a time when the cricket world is filled with white-collar elites.