The ex-India star in question here is Mohammad Kaif, who believes that Siraj was wrong on 2 occasions during the pink-ball Test in Adelaide
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that Mohammed Siraj ‘misbehaved’ with both Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne during the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Kaif pointed out the 2 occasions where Siraj was wrong. First was the incident where Siraj threw the ball at Labuschagne when the batter backed away due to some movement near the sightscreen and secondly, by giving an unnecessary send-off to Head after dismissing the batter.
“(Marnus) Labuschagne was batting and there was some movement behind the sightscreen. He backed away but Siraj came and threw the ball near the stumps. That was also not the right way. He misbehaved. The kids watch you as a role model. You wouldn’t want to set the wrong example. You wouldn’t want to tarnish the image of the gentleman’s game,” Kaif said.
The former India cricketer was also quite unhappy with the send-off that Siraj gave to Head and pointed out how the pacer had the chance to dismiss Head way before the batter reached his century, but ended up dropping the catch that came his way.
“Mohammed Siraj had a chance (to send Travis head back). Travis Head top-edged one. Siraj was standing at mid-on. He ran backwards, tried with both hands but missed the catch. Ashwin applauded for the valiant effort but I believe, you create history by grabbing onto such difficult catches. The game changes if you take that catch and Head is out. Siraj had that chance to change the game as a fielder but that didn’t happen,” Kaif said.
“When Travis Head smashed 140, hit you to every nook and corner of the ground, flicked you for a six, You placed a deep cover, long on, deep cover and yet he found the gap. He changed the gap by playing shots all around the park. And he did that on a difficult pitch where it wasn’t easy to score runs. After that, Siraj bowled him. I understand the celebration, but I didn’t like the send-off. If you know he has a weakness, then get him out early. Get him nicking to the slips or dismiss him with a bouncer, then do your celebrations, but the guy has scored 140… there was no need for a send-off like that,” Kaif added.
Following the incident, both Siraj and Head were given one demerit point each for breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct. The India pacer also had 20 per cent of his fee cut by the global body.
