One more time, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will go home without an IPL trophy. In over a decade and more, the same sordid saga has been repeated for RCB, where they have at times come agonisingly close to the silverware, only to be denied by what more often than not has been an underwhelming performance when it mattered the most. The batting once again did not come good when it mattered the most, while the bowling, granted that it was not defending a big total, still got some poor showing for the contest against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2 on Friday to become a pretty one-sided affair.
Unfortunately for RCB, Mohammed Siraj, a bowler they have depended on for a long time now, eventually became the weakest link in the attack, which made a considerable difference in the end.
While it can well be said that with Jos Buttler showing the kind of form he has now, any bowling would have struggled, but RCB were especially hampered since the others – Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel and even the part-time stuff from Glenn Maxwell – was good enough to set up a challenge but for Siraj’s spell, and two overs from normally steady Shahbaz Ahmed when were clattered for 35 runs.
Siraj ended up with none for 31 off two overs, going at 15.5 overs, hamstringing skipper Faf du Plessis’ plans. He couldn’t go back to his frontline bowler and the rest had to cover for that.
Maxwell went for 5.67 runs per over in his three, while Hazlewood ended with 2/23 off four, a run rate of 5.75.
Hasaranga was at 6.5 while Patel was a little expensive at 9.16 runs per over. But none of them came close to Siraj and Shahbaz.
Why Siraj becomes a question mark is that he has been trusted by the RCB team management for a long time and surely you expect the frontline opening bowler to come good when it matters the most. One can always say Buttler made the difference, but the bowlers need to force a few things.
Siraj has been a constant in the RCB team, having played 15 matches. But it doesn’t augur well for the side to see their regular bowler being placed on the 39th slot on the wicket-takers’ list, giving away an average of 57.11 to claim just nine wickets, with a strike-rate of 34.00 and an economy of 10.08.
There can be no two ways about the way Siraj has not been the strongest of the RCB bowlers. What makes it all the more mysterious is how he gets to play nevertheless.
Look at the other bowlers in the team. Hasaranga now holds the Purple Cap, and even though he may well lose it, since he is tied with Yuzvendra Chahal in terms of wickets and the Indian leggie has another match to go. But the Sri Lankan, with 26 wickets at an economy of 7.54 and a strike rate of 13.15, has been RCB’s find.
Hazlewood holds the 6th spot with 20 wickets (Econ. 8.10, SR 13.95) from just 12 matches; Harshal Patel has 19 wickets from 15 matches (Econ. 7.66, SR 16.89).
Maxwell hasn’t got that many wickets, but his economy and strike rate are both much better than Siraj’s.
So, what exactly is the reason that Siraj gets 15 matches, while many others in the fray, just don’t get any?
Siddharth Kaul played one, then was forgotten. One can dare to assume that he wouldn’t have done much worse than Siraj.
Chama Milind, who could have added some variety with his left-arm seam, didn’t get a look in, even as Siraj struggled. We have seen how effective the Indian left-armers – Mohsin Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Yash Dayal, to name a few – have been in IPL 2022. There was a case for Milind? We think so.
As hindsight is 20/20, maybe RCB now needs to show some foresight and think in terms of who the players that they need are going to be. Some select themselves on reputation, while others have made their mark.
Then there are some who have done their reputation no good at all, but have still been continued with.
Siraj, sadly, is one such name. His contribution to RCB’s cause in IPL 2022 has left a lot to be desired. One has to wait and see how that is interpreted in the RCB management.
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