Despite father's demise Mohammed Siraj decides to stay back in Australia, Ganguly lauds his ‘character’

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj, who is presently with the Indian squad in Australia for the impending Border-Gavaskar series, lost his father Ghouse on Friday in India after a brief lung ailment. Siraj has however decided to stay back with the Indian contingent and continue to prepare for the Test series.

"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," BCCI's statement read.

"The BCCI shares his grief and will be supportive of Siraj in this extremely challenging phase," the statement added.

The Indian contingent is currently undergoing the



mandatory 14-day quarantine period and has been training in Sydney having arrived in the country on November 13, three days after the IPL 2020 campaign in the UAE.

Siraj has so far played four international matches for India - one ODI and three T20Is - and is yet to make an appearance in the Test format. He has been picked as the fifth-bowling option in the pace unit which already comprises Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini. The spearhead, Ishant Sharma is presently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, recivering from an injury and is likely to join the squad ahead of the Test series.

Earlier on Tuesday, BCCI posted a video on Twitter where Siraj and Shami were spotted bowling at the nets with pink and red balls to skipper Virat Kohli and other batters.