"It might affect my performance" - GT pacer's big take on India comeback ahead of IPL 2025
Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Mohammed Siraj will be in the spotlight during the IPL 2025 season. Ahead of their first game, Siraj opened up about making an India comeback through the IPL.
While this year's IPL can be a platform for the pacer to make a comeback in the Indian white-ball set-up, Siraj is focused on performing for his team rather than thinking about selection.
Siraj reckons that thinking about selection may affect his game before adding that he is focusing on things that are in his control.
"Selection is not in my hands. What is in my hands is taking wickets and performing for my team. I will give my 100 per cent. If I start thinking about selection, it might affect my performance. In the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, just after the IPL, I was only thinking about selection and that I needed to bowl well. But the performances did not come," he said in an interaction with Revsportz.
"Later, I realised that the only things in my control are my bowling and giving 100 per cent. The most important thing is performance and whether I am executing my plans properly. I have learned this over the last few years, and it has been very helpful," Siraj added.
Mohammed Siraj was not considered for India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad that the Men in Blue won after beating New Zealand in the final. During his off-time, he played in the Ranji Trophy and worked on his fitness and bowling.
Talking about his preparation, he said that he will aim on giving his full effort and not look on too many things beyond that.
"My preparation is going very well. I was on a break and worked on my bowling and fitness. I played matches, and after the Ranji Trophy, I came back and focussed on my fitness, training, and bowling. If we talk about my effort, I give 100 per cent because when I have the ball in my hand, I can give my full effort. Apart from that, I do not run after too many things," he added.
Siraj was acquired for ₹12.25 crore by Gujarat Titans during the IPL 2025 mega auctions after he was released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
"My role will be to take early wickets" - Mohammed Siraj on his role with new franchise in IPL 2025
Mohammed Siraj will share the new ball with the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Prasidh Krishna for GT during the IPL 2025 season. Speaking about his role, he said that his job would be to take wickets early and build pressure on the opposition.
Siraj said that despite the likes of Rabada and Prasidh being there, he is clear of his role to pick up as many wickets as possible in the initial overs to make things easy for the other bowlers.
"To be honest, I know [Kagiso] Rabada is here, and Prasidh [Krishna] is also here, but when I bowl with the new ball, my role will be to take early wickets and put pressure on the opposition as quickly as possible. If I do not get wickets, then my aim will be to bowl dot balls to build that pressure. So, for me, my role is to take as many wickets as possible at the start, which will help the bowlers coming in later," he said.
Gujarat Titans finished eighth last season and failed to qualify for the playoffs. They will aim to turn the tables around and put up a better performance this year.