'Replacement For Jasprit Bumrah, Next Mohammed Shami': Ex-India Star On Top IPL Pacer

India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Mohammed Siraj is enjoying a dream season in the Indian Premier League this time around. With star pacer Josh Hazlewood injured for the first half of the season, Siraj led the pace unit for RCB, and has bagged 15 wickets in nine matches so far. Also, he has been pretty economical with 7/34 rpo, as compared to last season, where he leaked runs at over 10 runs per over. Former India pacer RP Singh heaped praise on Siraj, saying that the 29-year-old could become the next Mohammed Shami.

"I have been following Siraj for a long time now. When he joined the Indian team, his graph was really high, and then slowly it started falling. But it is good to see that he has worked on a lot of things this time, fitness being a major point," RP Singh told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.

The 2007 T20 World Cup-winner added that Siraj could be the ideal replacement for Jasprit Bumrah.

"Now if you look at the technical bit, he has worked a lot on his wrist position and follow through, for which he is getting the ball top bounce better and is also bowling stump-to-stump. He can be a replacement for Bumrah. In fact, I feel that if his graph continues to increase, he can be the next Mohammed Shami," he added.

Apart from his exploits with RCB, Siraj has also established himself as a regular member of the Indian team across formats.

He is expected to play a huge role for the team in the upcoming World Test Championship final against Australia, as well as the ODI World Cup on home soil later this year.