“I used to think too much about what other people thought of me” – RCB spearhead Mohammed Siraj reveals mindset change for IPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) players Dinesh Karthik and Mohammed Siraj shared their thoughts on their upcoming game against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

RCB lost two games in a row after starting their IPL 2023 campaign with an eight-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians. They suffered an 82-run loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders, followed by a one-wicket defeat to the Lucknow Super Giants.

When asked what has worked out well this year with his bowling, Siraj, who has thrived with the new ball, revealed that he is enjoying his performances and has stopped paying attention to what people think of him. He said:

“The process is the same, but I’ve changed my mentality. I used to think too much about what other people thought of me and I focused on that over my bowling. I’m enjoying my bowling this year and staying in the present, which is helping me take wickets.”

Karthik, meanwhile, feels that there are a few positives, but underlined the need for some fine-tuning. He opined:

“I think at this point of time, we’ve addressed a lot of issues we struggled with last year. That’s a major positive. A little bit of fine-tuning at certain points of the game, that’s what we are looking to do.”

Karthik, one of RCB’s stars in IPL 2022, fumbled when Lucknow tailender Avesh Khan tried to sneak a bye with one run needed off the final delivery. A run-out by the wicketkeeper would have taken that match to a super over.

“You’ll see spinners bowling in a different way” – RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar

Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Sanjay Bangar opined that spinners must raise their game. The 50-year-old remains confident of seeing a better display against the Delhi Capitals.

He explained:

“We certainly have looked at the lengths our spinners have bowled, especially in the last game and that is an area of improvement for us. We’ve spoken about it and planned accordingly, so certainly you’ll see spinners bowling in a different way and give us that impetus in the middle overs as well.”

RCB’s spinners managed only one wicket between them in four overs and leaked 63 runs against the Lucknow Super Giants.