"Shubman is a bowler's captain...": Siraj on his equation with GT skipper ahead of 2025 IPL campaign opener

Siraj was speaking on Backstage with Boria season six to Boria Majumdar. After a lengthy stint with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Siraj will be now seen with the 2022 champions.

Speaking to Boria, Siraj said about Gill, "Shubman is a very good captain, and he is a bowler's captain. Whatever the bowlers ask for, he provides. He gives that freedom to the bowlers. Our relationship is good, and whenever Rishabh Pant, Shubman, Axar Patel, and I are together outside, we usually roam around and have dinner together. So, our bonding is very strong. Our Test debut was also together (against Australia at Melbourne in 2020), which makes our connection even better."

Siraj also spoke about the head coach Ashish Nehra, saying that as a bowler, it is important to have a coach like him, who has won a lot of matches for India.

"He is a legend. I get to learn a lot from him. The way he stays calm is very important. But I do not like to stay calm. Shami (Mohammed Shami) bhai also played here, and he was taking a lot of wickets with the new ball. I would like to do the same--take as many wickets as possible with the new ball and keep my team ahead," he added.

Siraj will not be donning the Red and Gold colours of RCB this season after a seven-year-long stint with the franchise and one of his biggest supporters, Virat Kohli. After playing a season for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2017, taking 10 wickets in six matches, Siraj was bought by RCB for Rs 2.6 crores and he played 87 matches for them, picking 83 wickets at an average of 31.45, with the best figures of 4/21. He is RCB's third-highest wicket-taker of all time, behind Harshal Patel (99) and Yuzvendra Chahal (139).

During his stint with RCB, Siraj experienced qualification to playoffs four times but could never win a trophy. The 2023 season was his best for RCB, taking 19 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 19.74 and an economy rate of 7.50, with best figures of 4/21.

In the last season, during which Siraj took 15 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 33.07, RCB experienced a memorable turnaround in the second half of the season, going from winning only one of their first eight matches to winning six matches in a row to book a place in playoffs. However, they lost to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the eliminator.

Siraj's last competitive cricket match was against Vidarbha in January, taking four wickets across both innings in their Ranji Trophy match. He was not included in Team India which won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. (ANI)