RCB reveals the actual reason behind letting go Mohammed Siraj at IPL 2025 Mega Auction

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) successfully clinched the IPL title after a wait of 18 years in the recently concluded IPL 2025 season, after defeating the Punjab Kings by six runs in the grand finale, courtesy of the mega auction picks.

Notably, the RCB think tank team made significant purchases, including pacers Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as well as overseas opener Phil Salt. On the other hand, they released players like Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj.

Now, RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat has disclosed the thought process behind leaving Siraj from the franchise. It’s worth noting that Siraj was part of the RCB franchise for seven years, scalping 99 wickets from 102 games.

"Siraj is probably the player that we spent the longest deliberating over," Bobat told Cricbuzz.

"Indian international bowlers aren't that easy to get. We spent a lot of time weighing up whether we wanted to retain him, release him, would we consider trying to go back for him at the auction, is he a Right To Match? We discussed every eventuality with him," he added.

However, RCB got Josh Hazlewood’s services at the whopping price of INR 12.5 Crore and the veteran Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for INR 10.75 Crore. On the other hand, Siraj was picked by the Gujarat Titans’ franchise for INR 12.25 Crore.

"We were keen to try and get Bhuvi (for two ends of the innings) and we felt like hanging on to Siraj would make it difficult to get Bhuvi, so that was something that we thought about as well. A number of things come into it, it's never just one reason," Bobat noted.

Furthermore, Bobat also disclosed that Australian all-rounder Cameron Green's long-term injury was the main reason for not retaining him. "Had he been fit, we would almost certainly have retained Cameron Green," Bobat concluded.

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