Young India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj’s father Mohammed Ghouse passed away at the age of 53 on Friday. Siraj, who is in Australia, won’t be able to attend the funeral of his father due to the quarantine rules, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mohammed Ghouse died due to lung ailment in Hyderabad. Siraj got the news of his father’s demise after the returning from the training session in Sydney for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Siraj said his father’s wish was to make the nation proud and he is determined to do that.
“My dad’s wish was always this – mera beta, desh ka naam roshan karna (my son, you should make my country proud). And, I will do that for sure,” Siraj told Sportstar. 26-year-old said that his father was his biggest support and he worked immensely hard to let him pursue his passion for cricket.
“I know what kind of hardship my dad faced in my early days driving an auto-rickshaw to let me pursue my passion for the game. It is shocking. I lost the biggest support of my life. It was his dream to see me play for the country and I am glad that way I could realise that and bring joy for him.”
Siraj, who got his maiden Test call-up for Australia series, further said that coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli lend all the support to him after they received the news.
“The coach Shastri Sir and captain Virat Kohli were informed about the news. They just told me to be bold and are lending all the support,” Siraj added.
The right-arm pacer performed decently well in recently concluded IPL as he scalped 11 wickets in 9 games. Siraj also registered his name in the record books to become the first bowler to bowl consecutive maiden overs in IPL history during the game against KKR.
Source: India.com
