Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori praised special talent Mohammed Siraj after the hosts thumped the Kiwis by 372 runs to win the series.
Siraj rocked the visitors with figures of 3 for 19 in the first innings in Mumbai Test, dismissing Tom Latham, Will Young and Ross Taylor. The Kiwis could not recover from Siraj’s devastating spell and succumbed to 62 all out.
Praising Siraj, Vettori said that Siraj is always upto the task. “Siraj is something special. 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.”
He backed Siraj to play ahead of Ishant Sharma in South Africa.
“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.”