Mohammad Siraj Recalls the Time After His Father’s Death

Losing a parent is never easy for anyone and no matter what one does, the void never gets filled. One such tragic incident happened with Mohammad Siraj during India’s last tour of Australia. India had faced an embarrassing defeat on the tour by getting all-out for 36 runs. Virat Kohli had returned to India for the birth of his first child and some of the players were not fully fit. Amidst all this, India found their hero in Mohammad Siraj who had made his test debut in the boxing day test.

The decision to play Mohammad Siraj in the series turned out to be well as India won the series defeating Australia in Australia. Mohammad Siraj will never forget that series for more than one reason, while his professional life was reaching new heights, he lost his biggest supporter, his dad. Owing to the covid restrictions, the player couldn’t attend his father’s funeral. In a conversation during the RCB podcast, the player recalls the emotional turmoil he went through.

There were occasions when I would cry in the room: Mohammad Siraj

“In Australia, nobody could visit other players’ rooms as we spoke on video calls. But Sridhar sir 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 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. I always wanted to perform in front of my dad, and the dream did come true how I wish I could do it more,” Mohammad Siraj said.

In the same discussion, Mohammad Siraj also narrated the conversation he had with the then coach Ravi Shastri. The pacer mentioned that Ravi Shastri gave him the word of encouragement citing he had his father’s blessing and would do great in the game. Mohammad Siraj then picked up a 5 wicket haul during the Brisbane test and finished the tour being the highest wicket-taker for India. The RCB pacer was one of 3 retained players ahead of the mega-auctions. Mohammad Siraj had an average year in the 2022 IPL but after that, the player made a great comeback for the Indian team in absence of Jasprit Bumrah.