The last time India won a multi-team trophy was back in 2018 when they clinched the Asia Cup in the UAE, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
Winning his second Asia Cup title as captain, Rohit was obviously effusive in his praise for Mohammed Siraj, whose career-best ODI figures (6/21) guided India to their 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Sunday's Asia Cup final in Colombo, and the bowling group as a whole.
"It was pleasing to watch from the slips. Guys were running in hard, bowling quick. Siraj got the ball to move more than the other two (Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya).
"It also depends, as every day everyone cannot be a hero. That’s how the sport is, because a different hero shows up each day. As for Siraj, we were right behind him when he was bowling that spell," Rohit said later at the news conference.
"We got a message from the (team) trainer that we have to stop him... He was desperate to bowl. He needs to stay a little calm... You shouldn't over-exert yourself too much," the skipper added.
"Nonetheless, when I see bowlers bowl like this, I get a lot of satisfaction. I think fast bowling is something captains take a lot of pride in.
"It was really a great performance, especially to come and play like that in a final. It shows the mentality of the team," Rohit emphasised.
Siraj, who donated his Man-of-the-Match prize money of $5,000 to the Premadasa groundstaff, attributed his maiden five-for in ODI cricket to his consistent showing over the past few games. "I have been bowling well for a while. The batters were getting beaten for the last two matches, but today (Sunday) I found the edges," Siraj stated.
"I just tried to hit the areas. The wicket was seaming for the last two matches. There was swing today (Sunday), so I tried to make the batters play as much as possible. Since it was swinging, I tried to pitch it up to the batters."
Ashwin 'in line'
Off-spinner Washington Sundar played on Sunday in place of the indisposed Axar Patel, who has a "small tear" in his left quadriceps. But according to Rohit, senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin too "is in line" to feature in the World Cup squad.
"As a spinner-all-rounder, Ashwin is in the line. I have been talking to him over the phone... I have been very clear with players about their roles. Everyone's in the loop," Rohit said.