Mohammed Siraj was booed by the Adelaide crowd after his heated exchange with Travis Head.
Head smashed 140 off 141 balls before getting knocked over by Siraj’s yorker. The right-arm quick celebrated the wicket animatedly and gave a fiery send-off to the left-hander, who wasn’t one bit pleased and exchanged a few words with the bowler.
The incident led to Siraj being docked 20 per cent of his match fees for breaching Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct. Both players were also handed one demerit point each on their disciplinary records.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has now offered his perspective on the entire episode, saying that pacers can find it tough to maintain self-control once they are under pressure and hence, it is understandable why Siraj got pumped up after dismissing Head.
"Head’s explosive batting is a delight to watch, but opposition bowlers are never amused. No wonder Mohammed Siraj, who was flicked nonchalantly for a six the ball before, was pumped up when he knocked over the local hero’s stumps," Gavaskar wrote in a column for Sydney Morning Herald.
"Who said what to whom will be debated endlessly. Both players ended up with demerit points against their names, with Siraj being lighter in the pocket, too, with a fine. Fast bowlers by nature are aggressive on the field, and when the red mist comes down, it can be hard for them to keep self-control," he added.
Gavaskar also took a dig at the Australian public for booing Siraj in Adelaide, claiming that they would cheer for their fast bowlers in a similar situation.
"Siraj is getting the stick from all the “saints” in Australian cricket who, of course, were known for their impeccable behaviour on the field. It may have incensed Australian fans that Siraj’s fiery send-off was directed at Head, who scored a magnificent century and was also the local boy," wrote Gavaskar.
"But the same people will cheer if an Aussie quick gives a similar send-off to an English batter during next summer’s Ashes. There were some suggestions in the media that the Australians should get back to being the mongrels they once were. So, do mongrels simply purr, or do they bark, too," he further remarked.
However, the 75-year-old was left surprised by Siraj’s animated send-off act after sending Head back to the hut.
"Siraj’s outburst was surprising because if the Indian Premier League has done one thing, apart from making Aussie cricketers and coaches millionaires, it has also taken away to a huge extent the animosity that previously existed in the game."
"Make no mistake, as we have seen in the two Test matches so far, the intensity and fierce pride of playing for one’s country has not diminished, but uncouth and ugly behaviour has been almost eradicated. Now it’s mainly the bat and the ball that do the talking, and that’s how it should be. It may no longer be a gentleman’s game, but it is still a hard game played with a hard ball by hard men. And hard men do swear when the going gets hard," he stated.