STATS 
Follow UsIn the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mohammed Siraj was head and shoulders above every bowler in the powerplay barring Mohammed Shami.
Last season, Siraj took 10 wickets in overs 1-6, which was the joint second-best for any bowler, only second to Shami’s 17. But Siraj was so good with the new ball that he not only picked wickets, but showed Jasprit Bumrah levels of aura and control, registering an economy of 5.9.
No other bowler in the league registered an economy under 6.8 in the powerplay; Siraj was in a league of his own.
The speedster even forced his way back into the Indian T20I set-up on the back of his IPL 2023 showing.
So understandably, there was a lot of optimism surrounding Siraj ahead of this season. Everybody knew it’d be near-impossible for the 30-year-old to replicate his showing from last season, but most were confident that Siraj would prove to be a reliable asset with the new ball for the Reds this time around.
However, six games into RCB’s campaign, IPL 2024 has proven to be an absolute nightmare for Siraj. He’s not just been ineffective; he has, by a distance, been the WORST new-ball bowler in the ENTIRE LEAGUE!
Six games into IPL 2024, here’s what Siraj’s powerplay numbers look like: 10 overs bowled, 123 runs leaked, economy 12.3 and 10 sixes conceded.
The numbers look very bad in isolation, but they look horrendous when you compare it with the rest of the pack.
So far this season, 15 bowlers have bowled 8+ overs in the powerplay. Among them, Siraj’s economy of 12.3 is at least 2.3 higher than every other bowler.
It’s not just the economy that’s been poor. Being expensive can be excused if you’re striking regularly, but Siraj has not been doing that either. This season, his average of 123.00 in the powerplay is the worst among all bowlers. He is one of two bowlers to have an average over 100 in the powerplay this season, the other being his RCB teammate Yash Dayal.
These numbers are already damning, but there are statistics that are even worse. In the powerplay this season, Siraj has conceded 10 sixes — five more than any other bowler in the league.
Here’s a statistic that puts into context just how bad that is: Siraj has, after 25 games, conceded more sixes in the powerplay than LSG, KKR, DC, MI, PBKS and GT.
These numbers are not being inflated by a couple of overs that are expensive. Siraj has bowled 10 overs in the powerplay in IPL 2024, and has conceded at least one boundary in every single over he’s bowled.
In fact, in six of the 10 overs he’s bowled in the powerplay, Siraj has conceded multiple boundaries.
In IPL history, the worst season in terms of economy (min 10 overs) belongs to Arshdeep Singh, who leaked runs at an E.R of 10.3 last season. Right now, Siraj is on course to smash that record.
Usually known for his inconsistency at the death, Siraj has actually surprisingly fared well in the death overs (16-20) so far this season, registering an E.R of 7.6 in six overs.
However, he’s been so poor up-front that his horror showing with the new ball has actually overshadowed his pretty solid showing in the back end of games. More often than not, the game has already been done and dusted by the time Siraj has come on to bowl later in the innings. And for the same, the 30-year-old has no one but himself to blame.
There’s still at least 20+ days to go before the Indian selectors convene to pick the squad for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean & USA, but it feels like Siraj has already bowled himself out of contention for the Mega Event.
Even if Siraj turns his season around from here, it might be too little and too late — both for RCB and his own T20WC chances.
