Why Mohammed Siraj Refused To Speak With Joe Root In England: ‘He Makes Me…’ | Cricket News

Joe Root had said Siraj had a ‘fake-angriness’ about him in England (PC: AP)

Mohammed Siraj has responded to Joe Root’s ‘fake-angriness’ comment about him during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. In an event on Monday, Siraj said he deliberately avoided speaking to or even making eye contact with Root because the England batter makes him feel ‘calm’ with his demeanor.

Root made the remark while praising Siraj during the Test series. The former England captain called Siraj a ‘warrior’ and someone who most teams would like to have, but jokingly mentioned that he could see straight through the Indian pacer’s tendency to pretend that he was angry to keep himself charged-up.

“No, no, I do get angry, and it does not fade off quickly,” Siraj told The Indian Express. “Only after I get a wicket, my anger vanishes. As for Joe Root, he is a world-class batsman. When he is facing me, he never looks at me with any kind of anger. He keeps smiling at me. So whenever I see him, automatically a smile comes to my face. He is the first person who makes me calm and smile when I look at him. So during the England tour, I decided I was not going to look at him or talk to him. Even if he was at the non-striker’s end and I was fielding at mid-off, he would come to talk to me, but I would not talk to him. I would just walk away somewhere else.”

Siraj also explained that he lets himself be angry on the field despite being calm off it. He said that he learned it from South African legend Dale Steyn, whom he worked with at Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“Off the field, I am very different… shaant (calm), relaxed, chilled banda (chill guy). But on the field, when you are representing the country… when I am hit for even one four, I get very angry. How did this batsman hit me? So I tend to fight. Aggression as a fast bowler, I learnt from Dale Steyn, who I used to follow. Aggression is very important. If a batsman hits you and you are relaxed and smile… What kind of cricket is that? Kuch toh chahiye (You need some aggression). But off the field, I am ek dum chill (completely chill),” he added.