‘I judge myself through my rhythm, not through wickets,’ Says Siraj in IND Vs SL Match

ICC World Cup 2023: “I judge myself through my rhythm, not through wickets” This statement was passed by Siraj after the completion of a wicket haul against Sri Lanka. So far Siraj has taken nine wickets from 7 games.

Siraj has had issues with rhythm in the past couple of games but Mohammad Siraj’s parameter of judging himself in deliveries that are bowled in good areas rather than the wickets taken.

Siraj clearly explained to the mixed zone media after the humongous 302-run win here at the Wankhede stadium, “Taking the wickets is important and there is no doubt about that. But my rhythm was not consistent for the last 2-3 matches, sometimes, I was in rhythm, and sometimes I was not”. 

Siraj says he does not want to be critical of himself about his wickets.

Recent Updates: India Defeats Sri Lanka by 302 Run & Officially Qualified To Semis

And he also continues by saying, “I am not judging myself with (the number of) wickets (taken). The fact that I was able to land the ball consistently (in good areas) and the swing which I got, that you saw, I am very happy about it and I want to carry this momentum forward”.

“Whatever I had planned coming into this match brought me success and whatever I had thought of, I was able to execute. And I am happy that we have qualified (for semifinals) as well,” he added.

As there are many discussions raised by supporting India, Siraj does not want to talk about those discussions and he says,

“When we are doing well everyone keeps saying that the combination is good but when the performances go down there are talks that this bowler should be dropped or that one,” and he doesn’t like changing the combinations every second game and he doesn’t want to talk about it too. 

”With just one bad game, everyone talks about changes in combination and dropping the players. We are keeping all the negatives outside and taking all the positives along the way with us”. 

But he was happy about one thing that was the bowling of India had stepped up in several stages in the World Cup campaign but the important factors that you can see were highlights of sharing information and relying on crucial messages to each other.

“As you can see, our fast bowling unit is very good. If I am not getting wickets, Shami bhai is stepping in and taking them or Jassi bhai (Jasprit Bumrah) is. It is going very well (at the moment) for us fast bowlers. We speak about what better line and length to bowl on at a wicket,” Siraj said.

And again he added “We are passing on these messages to each other which is very important. For fast bowlers, it is very important to bowl in a consistent area. In the 50-overs format, when you take a wicket or two in the powerplay, the opposition team gets pushed on the back foot. It is very important to take wickets early and that is happening, so we want to continue with this momentum“.

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Even in the matter of Srilanka batters, Siraj says Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Mendis both are special to him because ” Both the dismissals were similar, Shanaka’s got me the five-wicket haul. Both are good because I have not got many wickets bowling wide of the crease. Whatever I thought of, I was able to execute“.