Mohammed Siraj picked 23 wickets in England Test series, was POTM in Oval Test win.
Yograj Singh also stated that seeing Siraj steaming in to bowl reminded him of his ex-teammate Kapil Dev, saying the series draw felt like winning a war against England.
"The way Mohammed Siraj bowled, he reminded me of Kapil Dev. I remember Kapil was injured and picked up five wickets. Siraj was clocking 146. Bande ne taange jama di goron ki (He froze the England cricketers feet)," Yograj told IANS.
The 67-year-old also lauded Shubman Gill's captaincy and slammed those who were questioning his elevation to the role.
"At the start of the Test series, questions were raised about Shubman Gill's captaincy. But he has silenced all the critics. No cricketing great questioned the selection, barring one, who said Gill is a new captain. But my question is—have you learned everything from your mother's womb? That is wrong. You need to support your players.
The captaincy of Shubman Gill was so mature. It did not seem at all that he was captaining for the first time. The credit goes to Shubman Gill's father and Yuvraj Singh," he said.
According to Yograj, the Indian cricket players' fighting style was the most remarkable aspect of this series.
"I felt like the loss at Lord's was a win. The draw at Old Trafford was also like a win. The way they have fought—that was amazing to see. Each one of them fought. Pant was injured, yet he came to bat. Ye humne jung jeeti hai goron se (This wasn’t just a series—we’ve won a battle against the English). "I am so proud of this team. I want to give all of them a warm hug and tell them that I am proud to be born in India and proud that each one of you plays for India," he said.
Indian team players now have a rest of about a month before their next assignment, the Asia Cup from September 9 onwards.