Mo Bobat, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Director of Cricket, finally revealed the thought process that went behind releasing Mohammed Siraj prior to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Fans of the franchise were left surprised when the franchise decided not to retain the ace speedster. Eventually, Siraj was picked up by the Gujarat Titans in the mega auction in Saudi Arabia. Months after winning the tournament, RCB's Mo Bobat revealed that the franchise had its eyes set firmly on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and this was the main reason behind letting go of Siraj.
Siraj played 87 matches for the franchise between 2018 and 2024. He came into his own for the team after the 2021 edition of the IPL. However, RCB decided to let go of Siraj and some other high-profile names before the IPL 2025 auction.
Mo Bobat stated that the franchise's management spent a lot of time deliberating whether they could retain Siraj. However, in the end, they decided to let him go as they really wanted to bring Bhuvneshwar Kumar on board.
“Similar with Siraj, another person I really admire and respect and it's been brilliant seeing him do well in the Test series here [in England] and he had a pretty decent season in the IPL too. He's probably the player that we spent the longest deliberating over. Indian international bowlers aren't that easy to get,” Bobat told Cricbuzz.
Also Read: BCCI miffed at KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj's non-selection, writes e-mail as associations face wrath
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: BCCI miffed at KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj's non-selection, writes e-mail as associations face wrath
{{/usCountry}}“We spent a lot of time weighing up whether we wanted to retain him, release him, would we consider trying to go back for him at the auction, is he a Right To Match? We discussed every eventuality with him. But both were tricky decisions, and for various reasons, we obviously decided to move on from those guys and try something different,” he added.
‘Hanging onto Siraj…’
Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned with 17 wickets in the IPL 2025 season, which RCB won by beating Punjab Kings in the final. He formed a formidable partnership with Yash Dayal and Josh Hazlewood, which was the main reason behind RCB breaking their title jinx.
“We were keen to try and get Bhuvi [for two ends of the innings], and we felt like hanging on to Siraj would make it difficult, so that was something that we thought about as well. A number of things come into it; it's never just one reason,” said Bobat.
On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj returned with 16 wickets in the IPL 2025 season for the Gujarat Titans. The Shubman Gill-led side made it to the playoffs. However, the franchise stumbled against the Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator.