Mohammed Siraj has always been a big Virat Kohli supporter. That the two have a special bond is well known. Siraj blossomed under Kohli’s captaincy, and has enjoyed playing under him. So, it was an obvious question to ask. Right through the England series, Siraj was the aggressor. He was the one who would push the bowlers, get the crowd going and play a lead role in pumping the team up. Much like what Kohli used to do all through his career. ‘Was it conscious and had he learnt it from Virat?’ I asked him.
It was as if Siraj was waiting for the question. “Maine yeh Virat bhai se sikha hai [I learned this from Virat Bhai],” he began. “Virat bhai always said to us that we need to play cricket with aggression and passion. When we are on the field, the opponent is not a friend. The opponent is our enemy. After the match is over, we are all friends.
“All through his career, he played cricket with the same intensity. And that’s what I have tried to learn from him. If you see the fourth day at The Oval, there was a time when England was controlling the game and there was a very strong partnership between Root and Brook. That’s where you need the intensity. You can’t let your shoulders drop and can’t let things go out of control.
“The crowd can play a major part in this. After Brook got out, you can see I was trying my best to rally the crowd. It actually worked for us. Root also got out and we had momentum. The crowd was very loud, and each one of us felt pumped. I was consciously trying to get the crowd behind us, for I knew every bowler would get charged up and it always helps.”
Siraj has a Kohli Test shirt framed in his living room and credits him for this attitude of his. “I will not be the same bowler if I don’t play the sport with passion,” he said. “If there is no banter or there is nothing said on the field, I will never be able to make a difference. I need the intensity, which Virat bhai stood for. You should see what he did as captain. It worked for us all, and it worked for India. That’s what I try and do, and that’s what worked for us at The Oval. The opponent also feels that we are not going to back down. That we will all push for victory, and every ball will be a challenge. That’s what makes me the player I am, and I have to credit Virat bhai for this.”
Kohli may not be playing Test cricket anymore but his legacy, to play the sport with a kind of intensity that was unmatched, lives on. Siraj is carrying it forward, and I am sure he too will pass the mantle to the next in line.
Siraj also spoke on a host of other matters and, may I say, it was a podcast I enjoyed recording.
Watch the full interview on RevSportz at 12 noon today. Promo at 10 am.
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