Mohammed Siraj’s story from rags to riches involves hard-work from not only the cricketer himself but from his family members as well, especially his father, who passed away recently at the age of 53.
"I don't let my father drive an auto-rickshaw anymore" - that's what Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj had said after being picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL 2017 auction for a whopping Rs 2.6 crore.
Shortly, Siraj made his India debut as well and has played one ODI and 2 T20Is thus far, However with an impressive performance in the IPL 2020 for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he earned his maiden call-up for the Indian Test team as well, to be part of the much-anticipated series against Australia.
BCCI had offered Siraj a flight back home to be with his family and see his father one last time, but the cricketer refused the said offer and decided to stay back in Australia.
AUS v IND 2020-21: "We are always together," Teammates stick with Mohammed Siraj in time of grief
In an interview with Times of India, Siraj’s brother, Mohammed Ismail recalled Siraj saying, “Abbu, mai select ho gaya Test team mai, Test series khelne jaa raha hun Australia.”
"He (Siraj) is my younger brother. We all love him so much. He was very close to my father. Whenever he calls now, he just cries. We say again and again...'Siraj kuch to bol' (Siraj, please say something). But he doesn't say anything. He says one-word, 'Abbu' and then cries," Siraj's brother Mohammed Ismail told Timesofindia.com.
"May God give him (Siraj) strength. This is all I want to say. I am also heartbroken, but I have my family and relatives with me. Siraj is totally shattered by this news. He is alone. I keep calling him to give him support," Ismail further said.
The 26-year-old pacer, who took 11 wickets in 9 games in IPL 2020 for RCB and became the first bowler ever in the IPL to bowl two maidens in a match, which he did in a game against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
India will kick off their tour of Australia with a three-match ODI series starting on November 27, followed by as many T20Is and then a four-match Test series. The first Test (day/night) will be played from December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.
The second Test will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26, before the Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7) and the Gabba in Brisbane (January 15) host the third and fourth Tests, respectively.
After hearing the news of his father's demise, Siraj wanted to come back, but it was his brother Ismail, who motivated his younger brother to stay back in Australia.
"Siraj wanted to come back but I told him to stay there. He is the youngest member of the family and got so much love from our father. He is in quarantine (in Australia) and whenever he calls, he just cries. I told him the loss has happened and it is irreparable," Ismail said.
Siraj’s decision to stay back with the team has been lauded by everyone from BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who praised his character, coach Ravi Shastri and his India teammates.
"I am in touch with the Team India manager. He has been so kind. I am really thankful to Virat bhai and Ravi sir who are there and supporting Siraj. Other team-mates also visit him in his room and support him a lot. Siraj needs a lot of support at this time," Ismail further told TimesofIndia.com.
"Siraj has promised that he will do well in the series and pay a fitting tribute to our father. He wants to win the series for him," an emotional Ismail said.
