India captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Mohammed Siraj and said that the pacer understands what the team is expecting from him each game. This came after Siraj emerged as India’s most potent pacer in absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the last year.
This amazing run of form in ODIs has led him to attain the no.1 rank in the format in the latest ICC ODI players rankings released on January 25.
He was the main reason for India’s win in the first ODI as he scalped four quick wickets upfront which came after he had picked 9 wickets against Sri Lanka previously in the ODI series. Siraj picked one wicket in the second ODI against the Kiwis and was rested for the third and final ODI in Indore.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, the India captain heaped praise on Siraj and said that the pacer got better in terms of understanding his bowling.
India’s Mohammed Siraj becomes the new no.1 ranked ODI bowler in the world
"I have spoken a lot about him. The more cricket he has played, he has become better in terms of understanding his bowling. I think in this game, it is understanding about what you can do. What is your ability? The moment you understand that I think you can be more effective for the team and Siraj has exactly done that in the last couple of years he has played. Whichever format be it. He has done really well.
He understands what the team is expecting from him. To come and take the new ball. To swing the ball, get early wickets. In the middle overs, again he has got so much skill. He can come and do all those kinds of skills. The more he plays, the better he gets," said Sharma.
Rohit had even praised Siraj after the 3-0 ODI series win over Sri Lanka.
Rohit had said: "He understands his bowling a lot better now which is a big thing in my view. He also knows what the team wants from him. All in all, he has become a very good bowler for us. He can take wickets in all phases and we need bowlers like him. We need to manage him and keep him fresh for the World Cup as well upcoming Tests against Australia.”
(PTI inputs)
