Fast-bowler Mohammed Siraj has hit back at the critics after his poor display in the recently-concluded season of the Indian Premier League. The right-arm pacer struggle in the competition throughout and has been facing criticism from several quarters.

Before the start of the season, Siraj was one of the three players retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Bengaluru-based outfit had retained him for Rs 7 crore after his impressive outings in the last couple of years.

In both the seasons, he had picked up 11 wickets. Last year, he had also maintained a stunning economy-rate of 6.78. Siraj, however, failed to put up a similar performance in this year’s IPL.

In 15 games, he managed to pick up only 9 wickets and had an economy-rate of more than 10 runs per over. His performance in the second qualifier had also invited a lot of criticism when he gave away 31 runs in just 2 overs at the start of Rajasthan Royals’ innings.

Having faced criticism from several quarters, Mohammed Siraj has hit back at his critics. The fast-bowler reminded them of his performance with the white-ball in the last couple of years.

He was also quick to remind them of his record spell against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020 where he had picked up 3 wickets for just 8 runs while also bowling two maidens. At the same time, Siraj admitted that his performance was not up to the mark in IPL 2022.

“Records are meant to be broken. When you talk about the IPL, I also made a record when I bowled two maidens and took three wickets. Till now, that record is intact. I don’t look at things like that. I agree that this year my performance hasn’t been great,” Siraj told The Times of India.

“In the previous two years, when I performed so well with the white ball…that was also Siraj, and this is also Siraj. One IPL performance doesn’t change the perception about Siraj. I know that I will make a comeback. I’ve faith in my ability,” he added.

Talking about RCB’s performance this year, they bowed out at the playoffs spot. For the third year in a row, they made it to the playoffs but could not get into the final and win their first-ever title. RCB won the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants but lost to Royals in the second qualifier.