Three reasons why Mohammed Siraj should be backed as a T20 seamer

Mohammed Siraj’s rise from being a promising young fast bowler ever since his debut in 2017 with the SunRisers Hyderabad to becoming the go-to bowler for Virat Kohli is truly one of a kind.

Siraj's prominence on the international circuit, especially in Test cricket, has been nothing less than extraordinary. He delivered some brilliant performances throughout the IPL, first for SRH and then later for RCB.

However, he has played a meager five T20Is for India since his debut in 2017. He has also been excluded from the squad that has been announced for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.

@BCCI can you tell us.Why did you ignore India's top quality fast bowlers like Umran Malik and Mohammad Siraj on fast pitches like Australia?
#T20WorldCup2022 twitter.com/bcci/status/15… https://t.co/d5831OEzHD

Here are three reasons why a player with the caliber of Mohammed Siraj should be backed as a T20 format seamer.

#1 Impressive pace with variations

Pace has been a huge factor in the bowler's success in death bowling, especially in T20Is and Mohammed Siraj has been able to cross 140 km per hour consistently.

Mike Hesson, RCB's Director of Cricket Operations, said:

"For me, Siraj had a good change of pace and a really good skillset for white-ball cricket but he had solid fundamentals behind him."

Siraj has also improved his yorkers, which have proven to be very effective for death overs in T20s.

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee said in the IPL pre-match analysis on Star Sports in 2021:

“Siraj is nailing the yorkers this year. So far, he has bowled one of the fastest deliveries this year and has bowled 34 deliveries for more than 140kphs.”

During IPL 2020, Siraj bowled a total of six yorkers in nine matches in IPL 2020 but had already bowled 12 in five matches in 2021 when Lee made this statement.

Raw pace from Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan 🔥

📷 BCCI

#India #SriLanka #INDvSL https://t.co/t7uRrlm3UR

He has also always been able to bowl a pretty quick bouncer. His pace along with all these variations makes him very effective in the shortest format of the game.

#2 Good economy rate

Mohammed Siraj has had a great record in the IPL. He has an overall economy of 8.78 in the 65 matches he has played.

Siraj bowls tough overs for RCB. He was given a new ball where he was required to bowl in the powerplay with the fielder restrictions and then also given the death overs where the run rate was always high.

Even though he bowls these crucial overs, he has managed to maintain a good economy rate. With a number of variations under his belt, he has been able to keep the batters guessing during the final overs of the game.

#3 A wicket-taker

Mohammed Siraj made his IPL debut against SunRisers Hyderabad in 2017 and took 10 wickets in just six matches. Siraj is a natural in-swinger but can also move the ball the other way, which makes it very hard to play him.

For instance, in the IPL match between RCB and KKR in 2020, he got the outside edge of Rahul Tripathi and one ball later, he got through Nitish Rana's defenses. That over ended up as a double-wicket maiden.

Pace, Swing, great seam presentation and figures to dream of. A Dream performance - Mohammed Siraj #IPL2020 https://t.co/B67btZl7r4

He ended the match with 3/8 in his four overs and won the Player of the Match award. With the new ball, on swinging pitches, he can be lethal due to his pace and movement.

Backing Mohammed Siraj as a T20 seamer would be a great choice for the future. Fast bowlers are very vulnerable to injuries and with his ability and temperament to play at the highest level, he can make for a valuable addition to India's pace battery.