Mohammed Siraj received high praise for his performance from Virat Kohli

The 27-year-old Hyderabad pacer took 11 wickets in the first two Tests of the series against England being the youngest in the quartet of Mohammed Shami, Jaspreet Bumrah, and Ishant Sharma. India won by 151 runs with eight of his 11 wickets in the Lord’s Test.

“I was not surprised at all (with his growth) because I have seen him from close quarters. He is a guy who has always had the skill. You need the confidence to back that skill, the Australia series provided him with that boost and confidence,” Kohli shared his impression before the 3rd Test match.

Kohli also highlighted the excellent performance of his openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma and hoped to sustain their current form. He said: “The opening combination, when you are playing overseas, is one of the most important factors. So, the way KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have played has been outstanding and we hope that they continue in the same manner.”

The Indian captain supported his counterpart skipper Joe Root after the English captain could not get Indian tailenders, Shami and Bumrah out in the second innings. Kohli noted: “You just take a decision, which in hindsight was not correct. As captain, you always try to make the right decision and I am sure he was trying to do the same…if it’s not right you take it on the chin and move ahead as he did.”