The last two years have been life-changing for Mohammed Siraj as far as his career is concerned. He made his Test debut for India in December 2020. Ever since then, he has been on the rise and he has grown up to be one of the main bowlers of the Indian test side. However, on his very first test outing for India, his father passed away and it was a big loss for the Indian pacer. He was given an option to return back home but he decided to stay and he was one of the key players of India who led India to a historic win against Australia.
In a recent interview, Mohammed Siraj has talked about his experience during that interview after he learnt about his father’s unfortunate demise. He said that all the members of the Indian squad, especially, Ravi Shastri, had supported him a lot during this tough period.
“When my dad passed away, Ravi sir supported me. He came up to me and said ‘see Miyan, your dad would have wanted you to take five wickets on this tour. I was very emotional, depressed and shattered. I couldn’t understand what was going on. We were under hard quarantine,” he said.
“So I thought it would be better to continue being in Australia and fulfil my father’s dream. My dad’s dream made me strong during that time. I was totally lost. Due to quarantine rules, being in one room was all we could do.”
“People have always said the Boxing Day Test in MCG is huge, and I was part of it. Being part of it and receiving your Test cap was a dream. I couldn’t measure my emotions and then I kept thinking that had my father been there, how happy he would have been,” Siraj concluded.