Team India captain Rohit Sharma revealed that he wanted their speedster Mohammed Siraj to continue bowling and finish his quota even after his stunning seven overs in a row. However, that didn’t happen as Rohit stated that he was advised by the trainer not to do so despite Siraj’s keenness. Siraj registered stunning figures of 6/21 in seven overs as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 50 in 15.2 overs after winning the toss and batting first in the Asia Cup 2023 final at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, September 17. Later, India won with ease.
At a post-match press conference following India’s convincing 10-wicket triumph, Rohit said, “We all complimented him and were behind him when he was bowling that spell. He bowled seven overs which is a lot. I wanted to keep bowling him, but I got a message from our trainer that we need to stop him now. He was also quite desperate to bowl. That’s the nature of any bowler or any batter when they see the opportunity, they want to pounce on it.”
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The veteran also added that while Siraj was in great rhythm, it was important not to get carried away by the situation considering the bigger picture in mind as well. However, Siraj picked up four wickets in the fourth over of the innings to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 12/5 as well.
He stated: “But that’s where my job comes in and I want to make sure everything stays a little calm and you don’t over exaggerate a little too much. That’s the call. I remember against Sri Lanka in Trivandrum he was in a similar situation, he bowled eight-nine overs on a trot, he was on four wickets. But seven overs is good enough.”
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“Siraj has to be specially mentioned here, when the pitch is looking that dry, to get the ball to move around like that is a special skillset. I hope he continues that for a little longer, at the same time we just need to look after all the bowlers, make sure they’re fresh, and keep them ready for the games in front of us now,” Rohit Sharma concluded.
