NEW DELHI: Former cricketers Mohammad Kaif and Wasim Jaffer on Thursday hailed pacer Mohammed Siraj for showing great commitment towards playing for the country.
Before the start of play on day one of the third Test between India and Australia, Siraj was seen in tears while singing the national anthem. The official Twitter handle of cricket.com.au shared a small clip of Siraj getting emotional as the national anthem of India was being played.
Siraj had lost his father before the start of the Australia tour, but the pacer decided to stay back to fulfill his father's dream of seeing him play Test cricket for the country.
"I just want certain people to remember this picture. He is #SirajMohammed and this is what the national anthem means to him," tweeted Kaif.
Jaffer said that there is no better motivation than playing for one's country. "Even if there's little or no crowd to cheer you on, no better motivation than playing for India. As a legend once said "You don't play for the crowd, you play for the country," tweeted Jaffer.
Asked to bowl first, India got off to a perfect start as Siraj dismissed David Warner (5) in the fourth over of the innings. Warner went for a drive, but he only managed to get an outside edge and a simple catch was gifted to Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.
This is the first time in four years that Warner had been dismissed for less than 10 runs in a home Test. Siraj made his debut in the Boxing Day Test against Australia and the pacer managed to impress one and all, as he went on to take five wickets in the match.