Indian troublemaker Mohammed Siraj has accused Travis Head of lying and abusing him during their heated clash during the second Test.
Siraj dismissed Australian century maker Head in the second Test in Adelaide on Saturday and could face sanctions from the International Cricket Council.
Head expressed his disappointment with the Indian fast bowler after receiving a verbal barrage from Siraj, who also gestured towards the dressing room after bowling the Australian batsman for 140.
With Head responding with some words of his own, the incident will certainly be scrutinized by Adelaide Test match referee Ranjan Madugalle.
“I joked with him and said ‘well bowled’ and then he pointed me to the sheds,” Head told reporters after the game.
“I would like a better response (from Siraj). I was surprised by the reaction in terms of the situation of the game.
Mohammed Siraj has accused Travis Head of lying and abusing him in their heated clash
“I felt like it was probably, yeah, a little far at the time.
‘And that’s why I’m disappointed in the response I gave back, but I’m also going to stand up for myself.
“I’d like to think in our team that we wouldn’t do that. It’s not how I would want to play the game, and I feel like my teammates are the same.”
Siraj fired back at Head in an interview with Indian broadcaster Star Sports before Sunday’s performance in Adelaide.
In the interview, conducted in Hindi, Siraj said Head had lied.
“After I threw him out, I celebrated and he abused me,” Siraj said in a comment translated into English by the India Today website.
‘You also see it on TV.
‘At first it was my party, I didn’t say anything to him.
Siraj dismissed Australian century maker Head in the second Test in Adelaide on Saturday and could face sanctions from the International Cricket Council
Head said afterwards that he thought the Indian Quick had gone too far
‘During the press conference he said something wrong. He lied.
‘He definitely didn’t say ‘well bowled’.
‘We respect everyone. I always respect everyone because cricket is a gentleman’s game.
“Travis Head’s actions were wrong. I didn’t feel well.’
Former Australian captain Mark Taylor called on India’s senior leadership to warn Siraj.
“I would like someone to have a word with Mohammed Siraj,” Taylor told the Willow Talk podcast.
‘I like his competitive nature. He is a fine bowler..
‘Someone like a Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli has to go to him and say, ‘Mate, yes, be excited, be aggressive, get in the batsmen’s face, love all that, but that’s the game and the umpire isn’t respect.’
Following the incident, Siraj was loudly and repeatedly booed by the crowd in Head’s hometown.
Travis Head hit 140 off 141 deliveries on Saturday
Ex-India captain Sunil Gavaskar said he could understand the crowd’s reaction and described Siraj’s departure as ‘unnecessary’.
“The guy (main) has 140, he has only been out one or two,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
‘You don’t say goodbye to someone who has batted brilliantly and won over the crowd.
“Instead of becoming a hero for firing him, Siraj has become the villain.
‘If Siraj had simply cheered Head after that dismissal, he would have been a hero to everyone in the stadium.
“Instead, he got the stick from the mob – and understandably so.”