Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has broken its silence on the decision to release their prominent fast bowler, Mohammed Siraj, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Mo Bobat, the Director of Cricket at RCB, has unveiled the strategic thinking behind this move. Siraj had been a part of RCB for seven years and had consistently performed well. He is now associated with the Gujarat Titans.
RCB’s Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, explained that RCB’s objective was to develop a well-rounded and effective bowling lineup suited to different match conditions. He highlighted the desire to include Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the team, emphasizing his experience and swing bowling expertise as crucial elements of RCB’s strategy. Bobat indicated that retaining Siraj would have significantly hindered the possibility of acquiring Bhuvneshwar, given the need to balance the budget and player priorities during the auction.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Bobat said, ‘Siraj was probably the player we considered the most. Indian international bowlers are not easy to come by. We discussed every possible situation with Siraj, whether it was retaining him, releasing him, or using the Right to Match. This wasn’t a simple decision. We were trying to bring Bhui to bowl at both ends of the innings. Retaining Siraj would have made this difficult. There isn’t one single factor involved; numerous factors came into play.’
Moreover, Bobat also revealed that the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green was not retained due to injury. He added, ‘If he was fit, we would have almost certainly retained him.’