New Delhi: India head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday described rookie pacer Mohammed Siraj as the find of the Australia tour, hailing him for playing a key role in the historic Test series win despite personal loss and racial abuse from spectators Down Under.
Siraj could not return to India after his father, who was an auto driver, died barely a week after he landed in Australia with the Indian team in November last year. He also faced racial abuse from a section of the crowd in Sydney during the third Test.
Despite all this, Siraj finished the series with 13 wickets — the most by any Indian bowler — as the team came from behind to script a memorable 2-1 win.
“Find of the tour for shoring up the bowling attack the way he did – Mohd Siraj. He fought through personal loss, racial remarks and channelised them to find home in the team huddle,” Shastri tweeted in appreciation of the 26-year-old pacer.
Siraj turned out to be one of the architects of India’s success and successfully stepped into the shoes of his senior pace colleagues after making his debut in the series-turning second Test in Melbourne.
In the fourth Test in Brisbane, Siraj led a young Indian bowling attack, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in the longest format of the game.
He returned with match figures of seven for 150 as India beat Australia by three wickets in the series-deciding Test at the Gabba.
On Thursday, Siraj revealed that on-field umpires had offered his team the option of leaving the third Test against Australia midway after he was subjected to racial abuse by the crowd in Sydney, a proposal that was turned down by skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
After his arrival in the country, the youngster had driven straight to his father’s grave in Hyderabad to pay his respects. He had dedicated each of his wickets in Australia to the departed soul.
