India pacer Mohammed Siraj paid an emotional tribute to Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota after taking a wicket during the ongoing third Test between India and England. After taking the wicket of Jamie Smith for 50, Siraj held up his fingers to form the number ’20’, representing Jota’s jersey number, as a tribute to the footballer following his tragic death in a car accident.

Jota, who played for Liverpool and the Portuguese national team, tragically lost his life in the accident, along with his brother, Andre Silva. The death of the 27-year-old stunned fans and athletes across the globe.

In a video posted by the BCCI on social media, Siraj shared how deeply the news affected him and expressed his desire to honour Jota, especially as a fan of both Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“When we were returning from the last match, we heard that Diogo Jota had passed away in an accident,” Siraj said. “As a Portugal fan, and with him playing for CR7’s team, it really hit me emotionally. I wanted to dedicate my performance to him.”

Siraj then reflected on the uncertainty of life, saying, “Life is so unpredictable. Who are we fighting for? Who are we doing this for? There’s no guarantee of tomorrow, so I was really shocked that something like this could happen.”

He shared that he had spoken to teammate Kuldeep Yadav about the tribute before the match. “I told him I wanted to do something for Diogo Jota. I took a wicket, so I went ahead with it. That was my way of paying tribute to him.”