‘Mohammed Siraj Has Wicket-taking Ability, but Has to Execute His Plans Better’: Kapil Dev

Legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev heaped praise on premier pacer Mohammed Siraj but also shared an important piece of advice for him. Siraj has emerged as one of the most improved batters in the Test and ODI formats in the last couple of years. The young paceman has also led the Indian pace attack on several occasions in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. He has been touted as the potential leader of the fast bowling attack for India in the years to come.

Kapil lauded Siraj but suggested that he gets carried away sometimes and bowls a lot of short-pitch deliveries as the legendary captain gave the example of the recently played World Test Championship Final.

“I think he has got great potential.” He, however, went on to add, “But I also feel he gets carried away with short-pitch deliveries. Yes, it is an important weapon for a fast bowler. When I saw India playing the WTC final, Siraj was bowling too many short-pitch deliveries whereas the Australian bowlers were pitching it up,” Kapil told Times of India.

Dev said Siraj has the ability to take the crucial wickets but he has to execute his plans better to stay consistent.

“Siraj has so much ability. But he has to analyze and see how many short-pitch deliveries fetch him wickets. He has the wicket-taking ability, but he has to execute his plans better,” he added.

The 1983 World Cup-winning captain also criticised the senior India players including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for not playing much domestic matches.

“Domestic cricket is most important. How many domestic matches has Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma or any of the other top players played in recent times? I think the top players must play a decent amount of domestic matches so that it helps the next generation of players,” Kapil said.

Meanwhile, he also talked about the underwhelming form of Sanju Samson who once again failed to shine in the recently-concluded India tour of West Indies.

“It’s not right to talk about Sanju Samson alone. We are talking about the Indian team. I think he is a great player and a wonderful talent. But he has to apply himself more,” Kapil added.