ipl news – Mudryk – India vs Sri Lanka: How poor IPL in 2022 motivated Mohammed Siraj to work on white-ball skills
India vs Sri Lanka: Mohammed Siraj said was focused on improving his white-ball skills after having an ordinary run in the IPL in 2022. Siraj also said he is looking forward to playing in his home ground in Hyderabad during the ODI series against New Zealand.
By India Today Web Desk: Mohammed Siraj said on Sunday, January 15 that he was determined to improve his white-ball skills after having had a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Siraj spoke about his evolution in white-ball cricket, especially ODIs after delivering a series-winning performance against Sri Lanka in a 3-match ODI series.
Mohammed Siraj shone in the 3-match series, picking up a chart-topping tally of 9 wickets. Siraj missed out on his maiden ODI 5-wicket haul in the 3rd ODI as he finished with figures of 4 for 32. Siraj bowled 10 overs as Sri Lanka lasted just 22 overs, getting bundled out for 73 in their chase of 391 runs in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Siraj was lauded by captain Rohit Sharma, who said that the 28-year-old Hyderabad pacer has grown from strength to strength, especially in the last 12 months. Siraj has picked up 33 wickets in ODIs since the start of 2022 and skipper Rohit said he would be one of the key players for India in the ODI World Cup year.
Siraj was taken to the cleaners in IPL 2022 as he picked up 9 wickets in 15 matches, conceding at over 10 runs per over. Ever since, Siraj has picked up 6 wickets in T20Is, including a 4-wicket haul in New Zealand in November 2022. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj has emerged as the leader of India’s ODI bowling line-up, picking up wickets regularly with the new ball.
“When my IPL went bad, I thought I wanted to get better in white-ball cricket as well. I slowly started working on white-ball skills. When I did well in 1-2 ODIs, I got the confidence that I would be able to do well in LOIs,” Siraj told the press in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Hyderabad pacer, who has established himself as one of the key members in the Test side, said he has stopped focusing on the end result and is satisfied if he gets his lines and lengths right on a consistent basis.
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