The Indian fast bowler is not much concerned about the fine he has been penalized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his heated argument with Travis Head, the middle order batter of Australia, during the second of the five-match Test series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Adelaide Oval.
Mohammad Siraj has been docked 20% of his match fees two days after the end of the pink-ball Test, which they went on to lose by ten wickets besides receiving one demerit point, his first in the last 24 months. The incident took place during the twilight session of the Adelaide Test, just after the left-handed batter whipped the bowler for a six into the leg side.
Siraj then came up with a full delivery, which the batter looked to smash but saw getting thrashed into the middle stump. The Hyderabad-born straightaway showed a hand gesture to the South Australian toward the shed, which the batter didn’t take in a light manner, and exchanged a few words.
Also Read: Mohammad Siraj And Travis Head Penalized For On-field Altercation In 2nd Adelaide Test
Head, coming into the press conference, remarked that he said, ‘well bowled’ to the bowler, who perhaps took in another way. Even though Mohammad Siraj, while interacting with Harbhajan Singh on the third day’s play, accused the left-handed batter of lying and felt that no such words were thrown at him.
Mohammad Siraj gives a priceless reaction on copping ICC’s fine
During the extra session of practice for the tourists, none of Jasprit Bumrah or Siraj turned out in the morning, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald. The Indian team is expected to fly to Brisbane on December 11, three days before the start of the third red-ball clash at the Gabba.
When the Indian contingent batted and bowled in the nets, Mohammad Siraj was asked to give his reaction on the fine, which is equaled to AUS 16,500 or INR 8,95,340 as the same newspaper claimed.
“Yeah man, it’s all good. I am going to the gym now.” The former fast bowler of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) narrated when he was asked if he was upset by the entire development.
When Mohammad Siraj walked into the middle with the bat during their second innings, he had a quiet chat with Head, who was stationed at the short-leg region. The latter, at the end of the game, explained that the duo had sorted out the entire issue as it shouldn’t be a problem going forward.
“Sweet with it. He came out and just said [it was] a little bit of misunderstanding. I think we’ll move on. We’ve had a great week, so let’s not let it ruin it.” The left-handed Adelaide-born spoke to the ABC Sport. “He just said it was a misunderstanding as well, and there were no issues for me. We move on. I’m sweet. It is what it is.”
In the game, Australia went on to win, depending on the 140-run knock of the South Australian in 141 deliveries, with the help of 17 boundaries and four sixes. Mohammad Siraj enjoyed his first day-night Test match with four wickets.
The focus for India is now to win the last three Test matches, as they have been dropped to number three in the points table of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2024-25, with South Africa at the top and Australia staying at the second position. Another from his position will make them dependent on other results to get the tickets to Lord’s, for the final in June 2025.