Mohammed Siraj, who used to be one of the best pacers from the RCB’s pace bowling attack, wasn’t retained by the franchise. This move not only surprised the fans but also even shocked Siraj himself. It was earlier speculated that due to his recent poor form, that might have forced the franchise to take this decision, but Mo Bobat, the director of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), has finally shed light on this matter. He revealed the strategy behind the release of Mohammed Siraj. Also Read: Shubman Gill Likely to Miss Duleep Trophy 2025 Due to Illness Mo Bobat revealed that they were firm about picking Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the mega auction, and this was the only main reason that they let go of Siraj. Bobat said that it was entirely the franchise's decision whether to retain Siraj or not, but in the end, they found Bhuvneshwar Kumar a comparatively better option, so they went for him. As quoted by Cricbuzz, Bobat said: “We spent a lot of time weighing up whether we wanted to retain him, release him, would we consider trying to go back for him at the auction, is he a Right To Match? We discussed every eventuality with him. But both were tricky decisions, and for various reasons, we obviously decided to move on from those guys and try something different.” He further added: “We were keen to try and get Bhuvi [for two ends of the innings], and we felt like hanging on to Siraj would make it difficult, so that was something that we thought about as well. A number of things come into it; it's never just one reason.” Bhuveshwar Kumar played a key role along with Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal in empowering RCB’s bowling unit this season, ultimately leading up to a healthy contribution in RCB’s first IPL trophy. He took 17 wickets this season. Talking about Mohammed Siraj then he was a crucial setup of the RCB team and spent his 7 years with the franchise, scalping 83 wickets across 87 matches that he featured in.