EXCLUSIVE: 'Siraj has fulfilled his late father's dream by making Test debut'

Siraj debuted for India in the longest format of the game in the second Test of the series in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, which India won by eight wickets. Siraj bagged five wickets in his maiden outing.

Hyderabad: Rising Indian star Mohammed Siraj was not able to perform the last rites of his late father last month as he was in Australia for field duties. However, the Hyderabadi bowler made his father proud by making Test debut in Melbourne, said his cousin brother Sameer during an exclusive chat with ETV Bharat.

Siraj debuted for India in the longest format of the game in the second Test of the series in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, which India won by eight wickets. Siraj bagged five wickets in his maiden outing.

He also led the Indian bowling attack in the final Test of the series, courtesy a number of key injuries in the squad and ended up as India's highest wicket-taker in the series. India won the Gabba Test by three wickets to retain the Border Gavaskar trophy.

Here is the list of India's top wicket-takers in the series:

Mohammed Siraj - 13 wickets (3 Tests)

Ravichandran Ashwin - 12 wickets (3 Tests)

Jasprit Bumrah - 11 wickets (3 Tests)

Ravindra Jadeja - 7 wickets (2 Tests)

Shardul Thakur - 7 wickets (1 Test)

Siraj lost his father Mohammed Ghaus on November 20, a week after he landed in Australia for India's much-awaited tour down under and he could not return home due to COVID restrictions.

“It was his (late) father's dream that Siraj should represent India in Tests ... he always wanted to see him (Siraj) in blue and white jersey to represent the nation, so our dream got fulfilled today,” Sameer said.

Speaking about Siraj's performance, Sameer said that they are proud of his accomplishments.

"We are really proud of him. We are all very happy. We used to get up at six in the morning to watch Siraj play. There is not a single match of Siraj that we have missed."