"Keeping Mohammed Siraj would have made that difficult..."- RCB's Mo Bobat reveals why franchise parted ways with India pacer

RCB did not retain Mohammed Siraj ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Director of Cricket Mo Bobat has finally broken silence on why his team parted ways with Mohammed Siraj ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The franchise ended their wait of 18 years to win their first ever title earlier this year defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final.

Notably, RCB made many changes to their squad ahead of the season. The franchise retained Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal in their squad ahead of the mega auction. Moreover, Patidar was named as the new captain of the side.

Surprisingly, the franchise did not retain Siraj in their squad, which came as a big shock for many RCB fans. The right-arm pacer was part of the team since IPL 2018, and the franchise kept retaining him for years before parting ways ahead of IPL 2025. Moreover, they also did not bid for him in the auction.

Mo Bobat reveals why RCB did not retain Mohammed Siraj

During an interview with Cricbuzz, RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat said that they had a long discussion over Siraj ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction. However, there were many factors which led them to release him. He also mentioned that they were keen to pick Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the mega auction, which made it difficult to buy Siraj.

“Siraj is probably the player that we spent the longest deliberating over. Indian international bowlers are not that easy to get. We discussed every eventuality with Siraj, whether to retain him, release him, or use the Right to Match. It was not a straightforward call,” he said.

“We were keen to try and get Bhuvi for two ends of the innings. Keeping Siraj would have made that difficult. There is never just one reason, several factors come into play,” he added.

At IPL 2025 mega auction, RCB bought Josh Hazlewood for Rs. 12.50 crores and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 10.75 crores. Siraj went to the Gujarat Titans (GT) for Rs. 12.25 crores.

Hazlewood picked 22 wickets in 12 games and finished as the highest wicket-taker for the side. Bhuvneshwar clinched 17 scalps in 14 matches. On the other hand, Siraj captured 15 wickets in 14 games for GT at an economy of 9.24.

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