Under the watchful eyes of Virat Kohli, the starry names that made their debuts in the Indian squad include the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav. However, the stories for all of these individuals have been different from each other and in one such story that essays the belief of the former Indian captain in the youngsters is that of him backing Mohammed Siraj in one of the latter’s toughest phases.

Kohli’s RCB teammate, Dinesh Karthik had quite a tale to recount as he divulged how Kohli stood by Mohammed Siraj.

Talking on Cricbuzz’s ‘Rise of New India’ show, Dinesh Karthik said, “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.”

Talking about the relationship dynamic between Mohammed Siraj and Virat Kohli, DK further added, “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.”

The trio will be a crucial part of RCB, come IPL 2023 and before they can rock and roll in the Red and the Gold, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj will also be donning the whites for the last two Tests against Australia followed by the Blue of India in which the team faces Australia in a three-match ODI series.