Indian bowler Mohammed Siraj said he was moved by the news of Diogo Jota’s death in a car accident.
On Friday, Siraj paid tribute to Portuguese forward Jota after knocking out Jamie Smith on Day 2 of the third Test match against England.
Siraj pointed to the number ‘20’, which is Jota’s shirt number at Liverpool, with his fingers after dismissing Smith. He then lifted both hands in the air in remembrance of the football player, who on July 3 died in a collision in the Zamora region of Spain with his brother Andre Silva while travelling back to Liverpool for preseason training.
Siraj added that he wished to honour him during the second Test. “We got to know during the last match (in Birmingham) that Diogo Jota has died in an accident,” Siraj said in a video posted by BCCI.
“Because I am a Portugal fan, and because CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) plays for that team, I felt emotional. I wanted to do it (pay my tribute) in the last match itself. I had spoken with Kuldeep (Yadav) that I want to make a gesture for Diogo Jota. Today (Friday) I have got a wicket so I made the gesture,” he added.
Expressing his thoughts on the unpredictability of life, the pacer said, “no one knows what will happen the Life is very unpredictable, dear friend. Who are we fighting for, who are we doing it for but we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. There is nothing certain in life).
“I was shocked on how such a thing can happen, that too in a car accident. (Since) I got a wicket, so I thought as a gesture to Diogo Jota, Jersey No. 20, and this was the reason behind it,” Siraj added.
