Virat Kohli has developed a legendary status with his exploits down the years for the Indian cricket team. Not only he is among the most successful captains to lead the Men in Blue, but he is also a very influential figure in the dressing room.
For many youngsters, Virat is a key figure whom they look up to as an inspiration, and that’s the case with Mohammed Siraj. Former Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun, who was part of India’s backroom staff when Kohli was the captain revealed an interesting tale about Siraj wanting to become like Virat.
Siraj had played under Kohli’s captaincy at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL in 2017, and that left a massive influence on the young pacer. Back then, he was just 23 years old, and the paceman was left stunned by Virat’s hunger.
Speaking about how Siraj wanted to ’emulate’ Virat Kohli, Arun recalled an old conversation with the Indian pacer when he said that he wanted to be like the former India skipper.
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“Siraj was Virat’s biggest fan. After the first season with RCB, he came and told me ‘Sir, mujhe Virat ki tarah banna hai (Sir, I want to be like Virat),” recalled Arun on Cricbuzz Special show ‘The Rise of New India’.
“I think it was the hunger in him; he had seen what Virat has achieved. So I told him ‘Agar Virat ki tarah banna hai, toh phir uski tarah bohut kuch sacrific karna padega (If you want to be like Virat, then like him, you’ll have to sacrifice a lot of things),” he added.
The veteran coach continued, “In bowling, you can be somebody who can be remembered. He said ‘No sir, I will do whatever it takes because I want to emulate him’.”
“So the fact that he was such a Virat fan-boy and later on, getting to play under him and alongside him had a great influence on Mohammed Siraj,” Arun further added.
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While Siraj made his India bow under Kohli’s captaincy in 2017 during a T20I fixture against New Zealand, he conceded 53 runs in his four overs. The pacer was in and out of the side at the time, but he continued to share a good bond with the then-Indian captain.
Once the pacer had taken the next step and started performing consistently, Siraj was given his maiden Test call-up for the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21.
As fate would have it, Siraj made his debut, not under Kohli’s leadership, Ajinkya Rahane was leading India in the Boxing Day Test, as Kohli had flown back home after the Adelaide Test.
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