Mohammed Siraj was breathing fire against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final, in which he clinched six wickets to demolish the hosts’ batting unit. He stood at the cusp of becoming the first Indian cricketer to clinch seven wickets in an ODI innings, only for India captain Rohit Sharma to deny Siraj another over. 

While there were a few questions about why that move had to be deployed and Siraj was not given another over, Rohit explained the rationale behind the decision. 

In the post-match press conference, the Indian captain said, “He bowled seven overs in that spell, and seven overs is a lot. So I got a message from the trainer that we have to stop him now.”

He further added, “He (Siraj) was quite desperate to bowl. That is the nature of any batter or bowler, they want to pounce when they see any opportunity. That’s where my job comes in. I make sure that everyone stays a little calm and you don’t over-exert yourself.”

Rohit further said, “I remember, Siraj was in a similar situation against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram, and he bowled some eight-nine overs on the trot. He was on four wickets then. So I think seven overs were enough.”

He concluded by saying, “It was very pleasing to watch from the slips. Siraj got the ball to move more than the other two. It depends, you know, every day, everyone cannot be a hero. That’s how the sport is so good because a different hero shows up each day. We were riding behind him (Siraj) when he was bowling that spell. We all complimented him.”