"It's a great feeling to work under a captain who understands you so well" - Mohammed Siraj on Rohit Sharma's leadership skills
Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj was full of praise for Rohit Sharma's ability to understand players while leading the team. The 35-year-old will lead the Men In Blue for the first time overseas as permanent captain on their upcoming tour of England.
Appointed as captain across all three formats in the span of a few months, Rohit Sharma took over the leadership reins from Virat Kohli. A set of clean sweeps over the likes of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and West Indies at home has allowed Sharma to keep a clean slate as captain so far.
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Praising Sharma's short stint as captain of the Indian team, Siraj told ANI during the trailer launch of Voot Select's web series 'Bandon Mein Tha Dum':
"Rohit understands the mental state of a player. Whenever we have a tough time out there on the field, he is the one who comes up with a plan B and motivates the bowlers to do better in the game. It's a great feeling to work under a captain who understands you so well."
The skipper has been rested for the upcoming home T20 series against South Africa following a hectic Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign. Vice-captain KL Rahul will take charge of the team for the assignment that begins from June 9 in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj has also been rested, keeping the tour of England in mind.
"To bowl those long spells in Test cricket, I really need to focus on my consistency" - Mohammed Siraj
The right-arm pacer went through a poor patch in the recently concluded IPL. After being retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the auction, Siraj ended with only nine wickets in the tournament at an economy of 10.08.
The 28-year-old will have to ramp up preparations after playing white-ball cricket for a while now. He is certain to play a part in the rescheduled fifth Test against England in Birmingham after an exceptional series last year.
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Noting that it is difficult to switch to red-ball cricket after playing T20 cricket for a while, he said:
"Right now, we have some time before we play the Test against England so for now, I would be training at the ground near my house and working on my fitness, as jumping from T20 to Test is a big change. To bowl those long spells in Test cricket, I really need to focus on my consistency, and it will be my only goal."
Replacing Ishant Sharma in the Test playing XI as the third-seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami, the Hyderabad-born player, has been exceptional.