Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj made his Test debut against Australia at the MCG in December 2022, just days after his father passed away.
When Siraj learned the news of his father passing away, he made the decision to stay in Australia. At that time, the quarantine issue was a key concern for the four-Test series, which was set to begin on December 17, 2020, due to the global COVID-19 epidemic.
Mohammed Siraj stayed in Australia and was unable to attend his burial because of quarantine limitations imposed by COVID-19.
Recently, in a discussion on the RCB Podcast, Siraj recalled a number of incidents from the Australian trip in 2020, where India, against all expectations, won the series 2-1. Siraj said:
“In Australia, nobody could visit other players’ rooms as we spoke on video calls,”
“But Sridhar sir (former India fielding coach R Sridhar) used to call often asking how are you, what have you eaten, etc. It was a good feeling and my fiance was also talking to me (over the phone) at that time. I never cried on the phone but there were occasions when I would cry in the room and then will talk to her later,” Mohammed Siraj added.
Further, Siraj also recalled how former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri encouraged and supported him during his difficult time. He said:
“I went to training the next day after my father’s demise and Ravi Shastri told me that I have my dad’s blessing and I will take a five-wicket haul. When I took five wickets at Brisbane, he told me: ‘Look, what did I tell you that you will take five wickets,”
“It was a lot of fun when my dad was around because he wanted to see his son’s success. He took a lot of pride and joy in seeing me putting in all the hard work. I always wanted to perform in front of my dad, and the dream did come true but how I wish I could do it more,” Mohammed Siraj further added.
Talking about that tour of Australia, Siraj played a key role in India’s victory in the 2020-2021 series. He picked 13 wickets in the series at an average of 29.53, including a maiden five-wicket haul (5/73) to script the visitors’ three-wicket victory in the series decider at the Gabba.