Follow UsIndian pacer Mohammed Siraj has been the talk of the town ever since his brilliant showing with the ball led to a series-levelling, against the run of play victory for India at The Oval on their tour of England.
Recently, Siraj revealed that he tries to learn a lot from all his senior players, and he picked a lot of things from his first captain, Virat Kohli.
“Off the field, he would be talking very nicely, but on the ground, the opposition is the enemy for him. I like this thing about him. And my bowling comes from aggression," Siraj revealed about his major learning to RevSportz.
The bowler, who finished with 23 wickets, the most in the five-match Test series between India and England, further said, “If I do not show that on the ground, I won’t be able to bowl well. Fast bowlers should have aggression on the field, and Virat Kohli has more aggression on the field than bowlers.”
Talking about his association with one of the modern-day greats since his Indian Premier League (IPL) days with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Siraj said, “I have had a good bond with him [Kohli].”
Siraj talked about another learning from Virat, which helped him trigger England's collapse at The Oval as they were unable to get the last 73 runs with seven wickets in hand.
“I have also learnt to take crowd support from Virat. The support of the crowd, for a bowler, can make a big difference and get the bowler flying with confidence. In that last Test at The Oval, when Brook and Root were having a good partnership, we had a bit of a shoulder-dropping moment.
"But then, I encouraged everyone, and we went ahead to get the upper hand in the form of the wicket of Root," the 31-year-old remarked.
Siraj is not in the Asia Cup T20 team, and he is also not playing in the Duleep Trophy 2025. Most likely, he will be seen playing in the two-match Test series against West Indies, starting in October.