"He was on par with Virat Kohli. There should be a joint Man of the Series. He was exceptional and his spells came on proper batting wickets," said Gautam Gambhir

NEW DELHI — Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir feels that fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who finished the ODI series against Sri Lanka as the leading wicket-taker, should have been named Player of the Series along with Virat Kohli.

India recorded a stunning 317-run win in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka on Sunday with Siraj leading the way with a four-wicket haul to complete a 3-0 series victory.

Siraj scalped two in the first ODI in Guwahati followed by three wickets in the next match in Kolkata.

“He was on par with Virat Kohli. There should be a joint Man of the Series. He was exceptional and his spells came on proper batting wickets. I know you are always tempted towards giving batters Player of Series awards, but Siraj was absolutely exceptional. In every game, he was able to set the tone.

“He is a player for the future and is getting better after every series,” Gambhir was quoted as saying on Star Sports.

On the other hand, Kohli put on a show in the final ODI as he scored an unbeaten 166 off 110 balls, his 46th ODI ton and 21st at home in ODIs, taking him past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 20. He amassed 283 runs at an average of 141.50 including two centuries and finished the series as the top run-scorer. — IANS