Virat Kohli may not have won a major ICC trophy as captain but, his contribution towards Indian cricket goes way beyond silverwares. Kohli triggered a terrific turnaround not only in the approach of Indian cricket but even in terms of fitness standards, introducing the much-debated Yo-Yo test. In the Kohli-Ravi Shastri reign, the Indian team became a force to reckon with overseas, winning consecutive Test series in Australia and having England pinned on the mat for a 2-2 draw. He led India to the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup and the final of the inaugural World Test Championship. Besides, the players to have debuted under Kohli’s captaincy – Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav – have all gone on to carve an identity for themselves.
Out of these, the most emotional journey has been that of Siraj’s. From being a promising youngster at Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kohli trusted the fast bowler’s abilities and gave him his big break when he debuted in 2017 in a T20I against New Zealand. But soon Siraj was in danger of losing his spot after showing a tendency to leak runs. That is when Siraj want back to RCB, had a cracking season and made his way back into the Indian team, this time in Tests. All through the journey, Kohli proved to be a pillar of support to Siraj, as revealed by their RCB teammate Dinesh Karthik.
“He has gone on to do so well for RCB in 2020 post pandemic when he just came through. He was about to be dropped but Virat Kohli backed him and said ‘I want him in the Playing XI’. And he had something to do with me because I was part of the KKR team that had gotten all out for less than 100. He picked up three wickets and won the Player of the Match. From there, his T20 career simply took off. He did really well and it is great to see somebody come from those strata of society have so much confidence and do so well in life. He has a great success story that a lot of people can draw inspiration from,” DK said on the Cricbuzz Special show ‘Rise of New India’.
Siraj has always hero-worshipped Kohli, and perhaps it was the same admiration towards the former India captain that pushed him to give more than his 100 percent. Even when Siraj struggled in his first run – in T20Is after a nightmare of a debut that saw him bleed 53 runs – Kohli stood behind him like a rock, and probably it was because of this immovable belief in him that Siraj has always remained grateful to Virat.
“Literally like an elder brother. I think he looks at him like a guiding light. In his tough times, Virat Kohli backed him and he really appreciates that. Under Kohli’s captaincy is when he came back in the team so he really values Virat as a very important person in his life. I think there are 2 people he really values a lot – Bharat Arun and Kohli. Because in his formative years for Hyderabad, Bharat Arun was the coach and he really guided him during those moments to achieve greatness and the good things. Bharat Arun has played a big factor. And Virat Kohli as someone who has captained him when he performed so well and been an important force in his life,” added Karthik.
