India pacer Mohammed Siraj and Australia's in-form batter Travis Head are set to face reprecussions for their on-field heated exchange during the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval. Siraj gave an aggressive send-off to Head whereas the latter used abusive language as he walked back to the dressing room after getting bowled on Day 2 of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
As per The Daily Telegraph, Siraj and Head are set to face a disciplinary hearing even though the Australian said they made amends after the hosts' resounding 10-wicket win to level series 1-1. However, the duo won't face sanctions from the match referee and are likely to face a fine along with a demerit point.
What Head and Siraj said on the incident
Head departed after scoring 140 runs and helping Australia take a lead.
"It probably (went) a little bit far; that's why I'm disappointed in the reaction I gave back, but I'm also going to stand up for myself. Like to think in our team, we wouldn't do that. [It's] not the way I'd like to play the game and feel like my teammates are the same. If I see that, I probably call it out, which I did," Head said in the press conference after Day 2's play.
Before the Day 3's play, Siraj in a conversation with Harbhajan Singh shared his side of the story and said that Head abused him as he celebrated the wicket.
"When you get hit for a six on a good ball, it fires you up differently. And when I got him bowled, I only celebrated, and he abused me, and you saw that on TV, too," the 30-year-old told Star Sports. "I only celebrated at the start; I didn't say anything to him. What he said in the press conference wasn't right, it's a lie that he only said 'well bowled' to me. It's there for everyone to see that that's not what he said to me. We respect everyone; it's not like we disrespect other players. I respect everybody because cricket is a gentleman's game, but what he did wasn't right. I didn't like it at all."
Head, Siraj put an end to controversy
However, the two had a conversation when Siraj came to bat in the first session of Day 3's play. Then, the two showed respect to each other during the customary handshake. Head in a post-match interview also revealed that the two have clarified the misunderstanding that led to controversy.
"He's come out then and 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 ruin it. I'm sweet, and I think he's the same, and we move on," Head told ABC Sports.
The two will be seen going up against each other at The Gabba, Brisbane starting December 14.
