Mohammad Siraj with Virat Kohli. Courtesy Mohammad Siraj's Instagram

Indian pacer Mohammad Siraj got emotional Monday in praise for his forever captain Virat Kohli after the star batter announced to resign from the Test captaincy.

Kohli had stepped down from the captaincy in a sudden decision after losing the series 2-1 against South Africa, leaving the cricketing world in a shock.

Mohammad Siraj, who started playing for his national team under Virat Kohli, posted several pictures of him with the former captain and thanked him “for the support and the encouragement that I got from you.”

The Indian pacer has also played in the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore under the leadership of Kohli.

“To my superhero, I cannot be thankful enough for the support and the encouragement that I got from you. You have always been my great brother. Thank you for trusting me and believing in me for all these years. For seeing the great at my worst. You will be always be my captain King Kohli,” Mohammad Siraj posted on Instagram.

Kohli’s tenure

Kohli took over the Test captaincy in 2014, when India were ranked a lowly seventh in the five-day format, and he took them to number one, a position they held for nearly three years.

But in a nation of more than 1.3 billion people and obsessed by cricket, the actions of the national captain are probably scrutinised more closely than anyone´s except the prime minister.

And critics always pointed to his failure to land a World Cup triumph in either T20 or ODI cricket.

Kohli has played 99 Tests for India since his debut in 2011, scoring 7962 runs at an average of over 50.

He was also involved in a DRS controversy in his final Test as captain when he and some of his players in South Africa reacted angrily to an lbw decision turned down by the third umpire.