Mohammed Siraj in tears as Indian national anthem plays before Sydney Test

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj on Thursday was seen unable to hold back his tears as the Indian national anthem was played before the third Test against Australia in Sydney.

The 26-year-old lost his father late last year, but stayed back with Team India as the side travelled to Australia in November for the tour Down Under.

“He wished that I continue playing for India and make my country proud. I just want to fulfil my father’s dream,” Siraj had said when his father passed away.

On Thursday, as a motivated Indian side stepped on to the field with the intention of retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy, a visibly emotional Siraj was seen patting away the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

The official account of Cricket Australia’s digital content team shared the clip on Twitter. Watch the clip here:

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer also shared the image of Siraj drying his tears, and quoted former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni that one doesn’t play for the crowd, but for the 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,” Jaffer wrote.

Another ex-cricketer Mohammad Kaif, too, took to Twitter to appreciate Siraj as he told followers to “remember this picture”.

“I just want certain people to remember this picture. He is #SirajMohammed and this is what the national anthem means to him,” he tweeted.

Siraj is playing only his second Test match, having made his debut in the Melbourne Test, which India won by eight wickets. After Mohammed Shami sustained an injury in Adelaide, Siraj stepped up in the following match, with figures 2/40 and 3/37 in the first and second innings respectively.

At Sydney, the fast bowler took the crucial wicket of star batsman David Warner on day one after Australia won the toss and elected to bat first in the third Test.

For Australia, Will Pucovski made his Test debut after a concussion ruled him out of the first two games against India. Pucovski went on to hit a half-century before Navdeep Saini got the better of him. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith steadied the innings for the hosts, taking Australia to 166/2 at stumps.