Virat Kohli backed players during his captaincy tenure. He also introduced new fitness standards, improving players’ overall performance.
Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, and Suryakumar Yadav debuted under his leadership. Out of these, Sirj’s journey has been an emotional one. Kohli trusted the pacer and gave him a debut in the T20Is against New Zealand in 2017.
He leaked a lot of runs and was about to lose his place. Siraj returned to RCB, had an exceptional season, and returned as a better bowler, this time in Tests. Kohli has proved to be a pillar of support to the seamer, as revealed by senior wicket-keeper better and one of the players of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Dinesh Karthik.
“He has been a phenomenal bowler for RCB post-pandemic, and when he was about to get dropped, Virat backed him and ensured his place in the Playing XI. I was with KKR and saw how well Siraj bowled against us. He took three wickets, and Kolkata Knight Riders were bowled out for under 100 runs. From there, his career took off. He has a great success story that can inspire many,” DK said on the Cricbuzz Special show ‘Rise of New India.’
“Virat has been a guiding light for Siraj. He values Virat as a very important person in his life,” added Karthik. Virat and Siraj are currently playing in the four-match Border=Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.