The young and talented Indian bowler Mohammed Siraj turned out to be the hero with the ball during the just concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy and played an instrumental knock-in helping team India script history by winning the series by 2-1. However, the cricketer was racially abused by a certain section of the crowd in Sydney Cricket Ground.
Mohammed Siraj was fielding on the boundary during day 3 of the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground when he heard racist chants and abuses and Similar slurs were hurled at Mohammed Siraj on day four as well. However, the cricketer revealed that the incident made him mentally stronger.
Recently, in a virtual press conference, Mohammed Siraj revealed that the umpires had asked the Indian skipper Ajinkya Rahane whether he wanted to walk off with his team. However, Rahane refused the offer by saying that team India respects the game. Siraj revealed:
“Australian crowd started abusing me, it made me mentally strong. Not letting it hamper my performance was my prime concern. My job was to inform that I was being abused, I told the entire matter to captain Rahane. Umpires told us that you can walk off the field and leave the game but Ajju bhai (Ajinkya Rahane) told the umpire that we won’t leave, we respect the game,”
He added:
“That incident made me mentally stronger, and I am happy that I didn’t let it affect my game,”
Siraj also talked about his unique celebration with teammate Mayank Agarwal after picking up every wicket.
Siraj, who lost his father when he was undergoing hard-quarantine in Sydney and was preparing for the Test series, revealed that he picked up each and every wicket as a tribute to his late father. He revealed:
“I dedicated every wicket to my dad, I celebrated with Mayank Agarwal after taking wickets in the second innings of the Gabba Test, I dedicated my every wicket to dad. Before the series started, I never thought I would take five wickets,”
Furthermore, Siraj said that the entire team as well as the support staff backed him to the fullest. He said:
“Everyone trusted me, they backed me, they told me that I am the leading bowler, I had pressure on me, but I enjoy challenges and I was just looking to hit the right areas on the Gabba wicket,”
