‘Siraj was offered to fly home for father’s last rites, but pacer opted to stay back’

Hyderabad: In an official statement on Saturday, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) offered the Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj an option of flying back home as the cricketer’s father passed away on Friday, November 20. But the speedster chose to remain with the team and other members in Australia.

Mohammed Siraj’s father Mohammed Ghouse lost the battle to a lung ailment. He passed away at 53.

BCCI issues official statement

Taking to the Twitter Siraj was offered to fly home for father’s last rites, but pacer opted to stay back’ on Saturday, the national cricket board mentioned that Mohammed Siraj was offered the option of flying back for his father’s last rites, but the fast bowler opted to stay back.

The statement issues by BCCI read: “Team India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj lost his father on Friday after a brief illness. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had a discussion with Siraj and he was offered the option of flying back and be with his family in this hour of grief.”

“The fast bowler has decided to stay with the Indian contingent and continue performing his national duties. The BCCI shares his grief and will be supportive of Siraj in this extremely challenging phase”.

“The BCCI requests the media to accord Siraj and his bereaved family members their space and privacy,” it further read.

Read the complete statement below:

BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly lauded Siraj’s strength and called him a ‘tremendous character’ for opting to stay back and prioritise national duty. “May Mohammed Siraj have a lot of strength to overcome this loss… lots of good wishes for his success in this trip… tremendous character,” Ganguly tweeted.

The Hyderabad-born pacer, Mohammed Siraj is currently in Sydney with the rest of the Indian squad for the upcoming series in Australia.

Mohammed Siraj heard the news of his father’s passing away after returning from the practice session.

Mohammed Siraj’s official statement

“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,” Mohammed Siraj told Sportstar.

“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,” he told the website.

Earlier, in a video, Mohammed Siraj spoke about his father’s health and said, “My dad is unwell these days. His lungs are in bad shape so he has difficulty breathing. I am really worried about that. I can’t even go home to meet and motivate him. I talk on the phone but whenever I do, he starts crying. I can’t even talk for longer hours because I don’t like seeing him crying. So I disconnect the phone early because I can’t hold myself for long. So, I pray to God for his good health. He was admitted to the hospital before the last game. I was really concerned that dad was in the hospital.”