In a recent interview with his IPL side, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), pacer Mohammed Siraj recalled a piece of advice given to him by former India skipper MS Dhoni. According to the Hyderabad speedster, Dhoni's suggestion to not take opinions of others helped him handle criticism on social media.
"Mahi Bhai (MS Dhoni) always says to not take the opinion of others seriously. If you have one bad game they will tell you, you are not good enough. If you keep thinking about those you will go mad.
Rather you think that the next match if you do well, the same set of people will start praising you and call you a good bowler," said Siraj in a video shared by RCB on their official Twitter handle.
Siraj was in scintillating form in RCB's recent encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders. On the back of his impressive bowling figures of 3/8 in four overs, the Virat Kohli-led side thumped KKR by eight wickets to snatch two vital points. It was a memorable outing for Siraj as he also became the first-ever bowler in the history of IPL to bowl consecutive maiden overs.
Siraj, many a time, has been trolled on social media for his inconsistent performances with the ball. Overcoming the flak and reproval, Siraj silenced his doubters with his match-winning spell against the Kolkata side. Turning the tide in his side's favour, the 26-year-old dismissed Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana on consecutive deliveries in his first over.
Further in the interview, Siraj also reflected on his cricketing struggles. While representing RCB in 5 games this season, he has scalped six wickets at an economy over eight.
“Father used to give me pocket money of Rs 70 every day so that I could go and train or play matches. It meant a lot that he could give me whatever he could from little he earns. Of those 70, 60 bucks went for buying petrol for my scooty but it was enough for me because I knew where I came from,” revealed Siraj.
