Mohammed Siraj and Virat Kohli share that friend, philosopher, guide, brother vibe. Siraj has never shied away from crediting Kohli for many of his achievements as a bowler. Every time Siraj was in the middle of a fiery spell, it was often Kohli talking to him. The writer herself witnessed two such spells, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Sydney Cricket Ground during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. In fact, after his famous performance at The Kia Oval in the recently concluded fifth Test against England, Siraj responded to Kohli’s congratulatory tweet by thanking him for “believing” in him.
In a chat with Boria Majumdar for RevSportz, Siraj credited Kohli for his approach. “Maine yeh Virat bhai se sikha hai [I learned this from Virat Bhai],” he began. “Virat bhai always said to us that we need to play cricket with aggression and passion. When we are on the field, the opponent is not a friend. The opponent is our enemy. After the match is over, we are all friends.
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“All through his career, he played cricket with the same intensity. And that’s what I have tried to learn from him. If you see the fourth day at The Oval, there was a time when England was controlling the game and there was a very strong partnership between Root and Brook. That’s where you need the intensity. You can’t let your shoulders drop and can’t let things go out of control.
“The crowd can play a major part in this. After Brook got out, you can see I was trying my best to rally the crowd. It actually worked for us. Root also got out and we had momentum. The crowd was very loud, and each one of us felt pumped. I was consciously trying to get the crowd behind us, for I knew every bowler would get charged up and it always helps.”
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There was even a viral picture in which one could see a Virat Kohli jersey framed in Siraj’s room, further illustrating their bond. In fact, one can often see flashes of Kohli’s aggression in Siraj, and Siraj has no qualms in admitting that he has learnt to wear his passion on his sleeve from his Virat bhai. “I will not be the same bowler if I don’t play the sport with passion,” he said. “If there is no banter or there is nothing said on the field, I will never be able to make a difference. I need the intensity, which Virat bhai stood for. You should see what he did as captain. It worked for us all, and it worked for India. That’s what I try and do, and that’s what worked for us at The Oval. The opponent also feels that we are not going to back down. That we will all push for victory, and every ball will be a challenge. That’s what makes me the player I am, and I have to credit Virat bhai for this.”
Aggression alone does not win matches but chanelled aggression often does. That is what Kohli taught, and what Siraj has embraced. As India look ahead, Siraj’s role as a strike bowler will be defined not only by his skill but also by the intensity he inherited from his mentor. In many ways, his partnership with Kohli is a reminder that cricket is as much about relationships as it is about runs and wickets.
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