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Mohammed Siraj’s aggressive celebration after dismissing Travis Head sparked reactions from fans and pundits.
Mohammed Siraj (right) gave Travis Head quite a send-off. (AP Photo)
India ex-coach Ravi Shastri has reacted to Mohammed Siraj’s altercation with Travis Head in the 2nd Test of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Siraj recently drew a lot of controversy after giving Head a ‘send off’ in Adelaide. The Indian pacer bowled Head out after the Aussie smashed 140 runs. He then pulled off an aggressive celebration, sparking reactions from fans and pundits. Shastri has now come in defence of Siraj, suggesting that the celebration was normal since the bowler had been hit for six in the previous delivery. “If anything, I wouldn’t have expected anything else from a fast bowler after he’d been hit for a six. Siraj was letting off some steam. That’s the fast bowler’s temperament,” Shastri wrote in a column for CODE Sports, as per multiple outlets.
Ravi Shastri won two tours to Australia as India’s head coach between 2017 and 2021. Shastri revealed that he urged his players to give ‘it’ back to the Australians during his tenure as the team’s boss. He added how not a single player was allowed to take a step back during those tours. “You want it to be like that. When I was playing, my philosophy was to give it back as good as you get. And it’s exactly what I would tell my players when I was coaching India in Australia. Do not hold back one bit,” he said. Shastri demanded a similar attitude from Siraj. “Do not take even one backward step. It then became the team’s philosophy and everyone from Virat Kohli to Rishabh Pant and every member of the squad was prepared to give it back to the Aussies,” the ex-coach concluded.
As for the altercation, Ravi Shastri claimed that Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head would deal with the incident themselves. “I’m sure Siraj and Head are mature individuals who will deal with it and the dust would have settled already,” Shastri added in his column.
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Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head’s heated argument during the pink ball Test led to a war of words between the two cricketers. They even took digs at each other during the game, on and off the field. The International Cricket Council (ICC) later announced sanctions for the on-field spat. Both players were fined a portion of their match fee while also receiving a demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. They are next set to face off in Brisbane during India’s third Test against Australia at The Gabba.
