The ugly face-off on the field between Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head during the second Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide took another turn on Sunday when the Indian pacer claimed that Head never said “well bowled” to him, which the Australian batter claimed while talking to reporters at the end of day two.
Head was given a fiery send-off by Siraj after being dismissed by him for 140. While Siraj was seen giving the marching orders to Head, the two exchanged a few angry words, which led to the Adelaide crowd booing Siraj.
After stumps, Head told the reporters his side of the story, while just before the start of play on Sunday, Siraj revealed that Head never said “well bowled” to him.
While the jury is out on the controversy, here’s what the two players are claiming:
TRAVIS HEAD
“I actually jokingly said ‘well bowled’ and then he pointed me in (to go to) the shades. I had my reaction as well but I would not like to give (it) too much airtime. I was surprised at the reaction in terms of the situation of the game and the lead up and there was no confrontation leading up to it and I felt like it was probably a little bit far at the time. That’s why I’m disappointed in the reaction that I gave back but I’m also going to stand up for myself. I’d like to think in our team that we wouldn’t do that, it’s not how I’d like to play the game and I’d feel like my teammates (are) the same and if I’d seen that in those circumstances, I’d probably call it out, which I did.
“I think they (Adelaide crowd) booed him after the reaction. Do you want to raise the crowd up? You’ll get the crowd.”
“There’s been conversations I’ve had, I’ll leave those conversations that I’ve had with individuals around that. Like I said, I feel like the way I would like to play the game. I guess the respect shown for myself and I hope my teammates, I’d feel like I’d hold a high expectation of my teammates as well and the way we conduct ourselves and the way we go about things.
“I can’t speak much for India but like I said, I’m going to call out in certain situations, I’ve had conversations with guys (in) this series about that. I feel like you can play hard and play fair but obviously when you’re out, you can’t do much about it. I’m disappointed with the reaction I had after that, but I’m going to stand up for myself.”
MOHAMMED SIRAJ
“I was enjoying bowling to him. It was a good battle because he was batting really well. When a batter hits you for a six on a good ball, it feels bad. That gave me energy. After bowling him out, I celebrated. Then he abused me. You can see it on TV as well. In the start, it was my celebration, I didn’t say anything to him.
“In the press conference, he said the wrong thing. He lied. No way he said ‘well bowled’. We respect everyone. I always respect everyone because cricket is a gentleman’s game. Travis Head’s actions were wrong. I did not feel good.”