New Delhi: India head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday described rookie pacer Mohammed Siraj as the find of the Australia tour, hailing him for playing a key role in the historic Test series win despite personal loss and racial abuse from spectators Down Under.
Siraj could not return to India after his father, who was an auto driver, died barely a week after he landed in Australia with the Indian team in November last year. He also faced racial abuse from a section of the crowd in Sydney during the third Test.
Despite all this, Siraj finished the series with 13 wickets -- the most by any Indian bowler -- as the team came from behind to script a memorable 2-1 win.
"Find of the tour for shoring up the bowling attack the way he did - Mohd Siraj. He fought through personal loss, racial remarks and channelised them to find home in the team huddle," Shastri tweeted in appreciation of the 26-year-old pacer.
Siraj turned out to be one of the architects of India's success and successfully stepped into the shoes of his senior pace colleagues after making his debut in the series-turning second Test in Melbourne.
In the fourth Test in Brisbane, Siraj led a young Indian bowling attack, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in the longest format of the game.
He returned with match figures of seven for 150 as India beat Australia by three wickets in the series-deciding Test at the Gabba.
On Thursday, Siraj revealed that on-field umpires had offered his team the option of leaving the third Test against Australia midway after he was subjected to racial abuse by the crowd in Sydney, a proposal that was turned down by skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
After his arrival in the country, the youngster had driven straight to his father's grave in Hyderabad to pay his respects. He had dedicated each of his wickets in Australia to the departed soul.
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New Delhi (PTI): The Income Tax department has served a fresh notice of Rs 1,700 crore to the Congress for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years, dealing another blow to the cash-strapped party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, sources said on Friday.
The tax penalties along with interest relate to discrepancies in tax returns for years 2017-18 to 2020-21, the sources said. The fresh notice was received earlier this week.
The Congress is already facing a funds crunch after Income Tax authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 210 crore and froze its funds. The party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to move the Supreme Court.
The party has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.