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India's 1983 World Cup winning cricketer Kris Srikkanth has slammed Mohammed Siraj left, right and centre for his behaviour during recently-concluded second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on December 9. Siraj gave an aggressive send-off to Head, who had just scored a match-winning century, which was followed by heated exchange between the duo.
Kris Srikkanth brutally lashes out at Mohammed Siraj
Srikkanth believes that instead of reacting aggressively, Siraj should have acknowledged Head's outstanding performance. Srikkanth said that Siraj should have shown respect to Head for his brilliant knock, which included 17 boundaries and four sixes and played an instrumental part in Australia's 10-wicket win, rather than resorting to verbal abuse.
"He has smashed the bowling mercilessly. Hey Siraj, don't you have brains? What are you doing? Have you gone mad? He smashed you left, right and centre. He hit boundaries and sixes effortlessly in his knock of 140. You're giving him a send-off after that. Is this called Sledging? What rubbish is this? It's just madness," Srikkanth said on his YouTube show.
"One batter has scored 140. Give him credit, and applaud his knock. Instead of saying 'brilliant knock', you're giving him a send-off? As if, you got him out on 10 or 0, as if you planned it and got his wicket! He smashed you all over. The Indian bowlers had no answers to Head's onslaught. 140 off 141 balls. Look at that. He hit sixes at will. He didn't treat Ashwin as a spinner, he is dancing down the track and smashing him," Srikkanth added.
Notably, the on-field altercation between Siraj and Head during the second Test in Adelaide is likely to result in severe penalties for both players.
The incident escalated when Siraj celebrated aggressively after dismissing Head, who had scored a phenomenal century. Despite being hit for a six in the previous delivery, Siraj delivered a yorker to clean up Head's stumps. The verbal exchange between the two players intensified, with both using expletives. The Adelaide crowd, supporting their local hero, responded by booing Siraj. However, at the end, it all ended with a warm hug between the duo after the conclusion of Adelaide Test.
"Sweet with it. He came out and just said [it was] a little bit of a misunderstanding ... I think we will move on. We've had a great week, so let's not let it ruin it," Head said in the post-match presentation.
Talking about the match, India were bowled out for just 180, succumbing to Mitchell Starc's six-fer in the first innings. Australia, who were dented by the Perth humiliation, put on a show with the bat and rode on Head's century to post a big total of 337 on the board. India again perished under pressure and were gunned down for a lowly second innings total of 175 which saw Australia chasing a paltry target of 19 runs. Australia ended up winning the match by 10 wickets to level the series 1-1 with three matches to go.
