India pacer Mohammed Siraj showed character when he did not return to India after losing his father during Australia tour. At that time players were not allowed to leave their room as they had to stay inside the bio-bubble and follow strict instructions due to Covid-19.
During the tour, Siraj's father Mohammed Ghaus passed away. He could not attend the funeral as it would mean getting ruled out of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. Conditions were such that Siraj’s teammates and support staff could not comfort him in person even when they were in close proximity.
"In Australia, nobody could visit other players' rooms as we spoke on video calls," senior Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer said in RCB Season 2 podcast.
"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 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.”
Siraj recalled that it was then head coach Ravi Shastri who filled him with confidence and predicted that he will take a five-wicket haul in the historic Gabba Test win.
"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 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."
New to Test cricket, Siraj led an inexperienced pace attack and took 13 wickets to help stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane-led side win by 2-1 and retain the trophy
"I enjoyed bowling the most in Australia because I became a leader of the pace attack as all main bowlers were injured. Bowling with the new ball was a different feeling altogether. It was a big responsibility and I was so happy that I could fulfill it.
"I wasn't even aware that Jassi bhai (Jasprit Bumrah) was not playing the last Test and I got to know about it when I came to the ground for the warm-ups. We were informed in the team huddle that Jassi bhai was not playing.
"I was shocked to hear that as the whole bowling line-up is so young. I have played just two matches while Shardul (Thakur) and Navdeep Saini have played one match each. But there was this unity among the youngsters which helped us in that match."
The exceptional performances in Australian conditions helped Siraj cement his place in the test squad. He took eight wickets in India's dominating 151-run win at Lord's. He also recalled the partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami that changed the game.
"We were 175 for 6 in the second innings and wanted to get as close to 200, a total that we were confident of defending. But there was a great partnership between Jassi bhai and (Mohammed) Shami bhai and we got 250-plus on the board," said Siraj.
"It was a different feeling and we declared the innings. Then Virat bhai told us that we have 70 overs and bowl those overs with all (your) heart and make them feel 70 overs of hell. So, it gave us a lot of motivation and aggression.
“We all know about Virat bhai's aggression and seeing it we all get motivated. We made English batsmen think: 'is it our home ground or their home ground'.”
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