‘He was on par with Virat Kohli’ – Gautam Gambhir feels Player of the Series award in Sri Lanka series could have another India star

On Sunday, Team India defeated Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka in the third and final One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series with an undefeated victory thanks to the former Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Due to his two hundreds in three games, Kohli was named the Player of the Series. Although Kohli was named Player of the Series for his game-winning hits, Gautam Gambhir, a former Indian opener, feels that there were other noteworthy players in the Sri Lanka ODI series.

Gambhir singled out seamer Mohammed Siraj, saying that the Indian pacer deserved to be compensated for his contributions to the just-finished series. The former batter for India believes that Siraj and Kohli should have split the Player of the Series honour. Gambhir expressed his opinions after India finished its whitewash of the tourists in Thiruvananthapuram and he outlined the reasons Siraj was also the front-runner for the special award.

In every game, he was able to set the tone: Gautam Gambhir

“For me, I think he was on par with Virat Kohli. There should have been a joint Man of the Series because he was exceptional and these were beautiful batting wickets. I know we are always tempted towards batters getting big hundreds but I think Mohammed Siraj was absolutely exceptional too in this entire series,” Gambhir told Star Sports

At the Greenfield International Stadium, pacer Siraj precipitated the Islanders’ batting collapse while run-machine Kohli led India to a big total (390/5) in the third ODI. Sri Lanka collapsed for a meagre 73 in 22 overs thanks to Siraj’s four important wickets.

“I think the hallmark is, he will get many more five-fors, it’s not about that he didn’t get it today but how good was he, especially with the new ball. In every game, he was able to set the tone,” Gambhir added.

Siraj ended the series with the most wickets. In the three-match series, the hot Indian fast bowler took 9 wickets at an average of 10.22.