Mohammad Siraj reveals how Kohli motivated him in his debut T20I

Siraj says Kohli took away the pressure

Young pace bowler Mohammad Siraj has revealed how Virat Kohli motivated him during his debut T20I game. The Hyderabad pacer has recently earned his maiden Test call up and is a part of India’s Test squad that will play two Tests against West Indies.

Speaking ahead of the Test series which begins on October 04, Siraj said that Virat spoke with him before the match and took away all the tension.

Virat was delighted when I got Williamson’s wicket: Siraj 

Mohammad Siraj made his T20I debut in November 2017 against New Zealand at Rajkot. Speaking about his debut match, the pace bowler  admitted that he was nervous before the match and he had a chat with Kohli bhai.

Siraj recalls that when he hit the field, the Indian skipper told him that he has seen Siraj’s game. Virat advised him to just go and bowl the way he have been and asked him not to experiment.

The pace bowler said that by saying this, Kohli took away the pressure. The pacer also remembers that when he dismissed the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson to claim his first international wicket, Kohli was delighted.

Siraj talks about support received from Dhoni

At the same time, the Hyderabad cricketer spoke about the support he has received from the former India captain and wicket-keeper MS Dhoni.

He revealed that Dhoni has helped him to take his game to another level. The pacer stated that Dhoni asked him to watch the batsman’s footwork closely and then change the line and length accordingly. The pacer feels Dhoni’s pep talk has helped him.

The pace bowler has an impressive domestic record. He has 97 wickets in 38 first-class innings, and is in splendid form in recent times. In his last five first-class innings he has bagged 25 wickets, which includes two five-fiers against South Africa A and a eight-wicket haul against Australia A.