Daniel Vettori, the former Kiwi spinner lavished praise on the young Indian pacer. Even, he mentioned that Virat Kohli too often likes to face the speedster in order to bat against some serious pace. Mohammed Siraj bowled sensationally well in the 2nd Test against New Zealand and took three wickets in a span of three overs.
Siraj plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. He was recently retained by Bangalore based franchise at a price of INR 7 Crores. The Hyderabad-born pacer made his Test debut against Australia in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2021-22.
Mohammed Siraj is something special: Former New Zealand Skipper Daniel Vettori
He did impressive with the new ball in the absence of senior pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, etc. The right-handed bowler grabbed 13 wickets in 3 games and finished as the third leading wicket-taker in the historic series.
There is no doubt about the fact that Siraj has grown as a bowler over the last couple of years. He has learn’t a lot playing under the likes of Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and other experienced pacers. Now, he has developed into one of the top bowlers across the country in ODI, Tests, and T20Is.
In an interview, Daniel Vettori praised Siraj for his rise as a bowler. He said that the pacer is quite an interesting player, who tries to do something new on every ball in a Test match.
“Siraj is something special,” Vettori said on ESPNcricinfo. “Every time he comes into a Test match, something happens. (Virat) Kohli goes to him quite a bit to bring some energy and his pace remains the same. He runs in hard and does everything you want from a fast bowler.”
Vettori mentioned that currently, Team India has a star bowler like Ishant Sharma. But, he feels this is the perfect time to give a chance to a player like Mohammed Siraj
“That’s not to diminish anything from Ishant Sharma, but I just think the timing is right for someone like Siraj to come in and offer something special to the Indian bowling line-up in South African conditions,” Vettori said.
