The star Indian pacer, Mohammed Siraj will be eager to prove his critics wrong and show why he deserves to be in the international circuit with stellar performances in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). After a seven-year stint with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he will now be playing for the Gujarat Titans after the franchise picked him up for Rs 12.25 crore in the mega-auction and the 31-year-old will be motivated to show his best in the coming season. The right-arm quick from Hyderabad has not been in the selection circuit since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and missed out on India’s Champions Trophy campaign as well. Prior to the tournament, the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma had pointed out that Siraj’s lack of effectiveness with the old ball was a major reason for his non-selection. “Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit if he’s not going to take the new ball. We discussed it at length and we are only taking three seamers there (CT) because we wanted all the all-rounders with us,” Rohit said at the press conference for the squad announcement. “It’s an unfortunate thing that he (Siraj) has to miss out but we had no option but to get the guys who can perform a certain role,” he added. But Siraj thinks otherwise, seeing himself as one the best bowlers in the world. “I have taken the most wickets with the old ball in the past year among the world’s ten fastest bowlers. My economy rate is also low. The numbers speak for themselves. I have performed well with both the new and old ball,” Siraj mentioned in the pre-season press conference. Having made the move to GT, he will now look to make a fresh start in Ahmedabad as they take on the Punjab Kings in their first game of the season at home on March 25 (Tuesday) later this month. Having moved away from the batting-friendly conditions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Siraj will look to make the most in the coming season and show why he is amongst the most feared pacers in the country. With enough time away from international cricket, the signs are positive as Siraj has been looking good in the franchises’ intra-squad matches and looks set for a big season in 2025.