Mohammed Siraj broke down on multiple occasions, spent a day isolated after his father's demise

India pacer Mohammed Siraj’s success story is one for the ages. The man has worked hard and defied all the odds on his way to playing for his country. And the way he is doing it, Siraj has made a statement in a short time that he is here to stay. His Lord’s Test performance has proved that his success in Australia wasn’t just a fluke and the man has real talent in him.

But his father, who worked hard for his son to make his dream come true, is not alive anymore. Siraj’s father, Mohammed Ghaus, passed away on November 20 when team India players was in the middle of a mandatory 14-day quarantine period in Australia. The cricketer couldn’t travel back to home due to COVID-19 restrictions as it would mean he missed the whole tour.

Not only this, none of the Indian team members could pay a visit to him due to strict quarantine rules. According to a new book ‘Indian Cricket – Mission Domination: An Unfinished Quest’ which is co-authored by Boria Majumdar and senior sports journalist Kushan Sarkar, there were cops outside room of every player to keep an eye if the Indian team breaks the COVID protocols during the quarantine.

For the same reason, Mohammed Siraj had to spend a day alone at his hotel room after his father’s death but his teammates made sure to stay connected to him through video calls throughout the day. “Siraj had lost his father during the statutory period of 14 days hard quarantine in Australia in November. What this meant was that none of his teammates could even go to his room to give him a shoulder to cry on.

“At the time there were cops outside every room just in case the Indians tried to violate protocol. They were being guarded as prisoners who could export Covid to Australia! As a result, his teammates were on video calls with him all day and were concerned he wouldn’t do something drastic or damaging to himself,” the excerpt from the book read according to News18.

Only physio could go to player’s room during the quarantine period

Moreover, only the team physio Nitin Patel was allowed to enter players’ room during the quarantine period and he used the meeting window to console Mohammed Siraj. The cricketer broke down multiple times but made sure to give his best for his father on the tour.

“Only the physio could go to his room to treat him, and Nitin Patel used the window to go and console the young man who was in mourning. Siraj broke down on multiple occasions, which is only natural but never gave up. He was steadfast and resolute. He wanted to fulfil his father’s wish of doing his best for India and when the opportunity came his way at the MCG on the huge occasion of the Boxing Day Test, he just did not want to let it go,” the excerpt further read.