Mohammed Siraj was alone in ‘5-star jail’ hotel room after losing father, 'no one could visit': ‘No shoulder to cry on’

It has been close to a month, but one still can't forget how Mohammed Siraj propelled India to a victory against all odds in the Oval Test against England, helping India level the five-match series. The right-arm pacer returned with five wickets in the second innings to help the visitors eke out a narrow six-run win. Over the course of the last five years, Siraj has become a vital cog in India's bowling in Tests. However, one cannot forget the trying circumstances in which he began his career in the toughest format of the game. Mohammed Siraj lost his father when the pacer was on the tour of Australia.(Action Images via Reuters)

Siraj eventually made his Test debut in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under. However, before the start of the series, the 31-year-old lost his father in Hyderabad. He was unable to make the trip back to India due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the forced bio-bubble.

Bharat Arun, the then bowling coach, has now revealed that Siraj was stranded alone in his room and no one could visit him because of the harsh guidelines issued in Australia. He stated that only the team manager was going to Siraj's room after getting all the desired permissions.

While speaking to the Bombay Sport Exchange, Arun stated, “It was the five-star jail. The manager was the only one to go. He got special permission, but none of us could visit him. It was really tough. We spoke a lot on the phone. We spoke on WhatsApp calls.”

“But that was it. There's nothing like human touch. Shoulder to cry on, at that point, would have meant a lot to Siraj, but there was no shoulder to cry on,” he added.

Siraj star performer in BGT 2020-21

Siraj was one of the star performers in his debut series as India registered a famous 2-1 series win against all odds. The pacer returned with 13 wickets in six innings, including a fifer in the last Test at the Gabba, Brisbane.

Also Read: ‘I spoke to Siraj…': Arshdeep Singh relives India vs England trauma, says ‘He gave me this…’

Bharat Arun revealed that he offered Siraj the chance to go back to India and be with his family; however, the pacer wanted to stay back and get a chance to play Tests for the country.

“He got on a video call, and I spoke to him, then we asked him, ‘Would you like to go back?’ Ravi told me that it is so far away, so what can be done now? Siraj then told me that it was his father's dream to watch him play Tests. He said, ‘I will stay here. ’ I thought that was outstanding,” said Arun.

Speaking of Siraj, he was the leading wicket-taker in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, with 23 wickets to his name. He was the lone Indian bowler to play all five Tests in the series.

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