
Former Australia skipper Mark Taylor has criticised Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj for his outburst against Aussie Travis Head in the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test. Siraj had given Head a send-off after bowling him out and Head, in turn, engaged in the verbal battle as well. Both the players were later reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“I didn’t like the send-off from Mohammed Siraj,” Taylor said while talking to local media outlet Nine News. “My biggest concern with Mohammed is this desire to assume that umpires are going to give dismissals.”
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“I don’t like him running down the pitch when he hits a guy on the pads, going past the batsman, assuming he’s going to be given out, without showing respect to the umpire and the game to at least have a look at the decision. I think Mohammed ... someone needs to have a chat with him about that,” he added.
Siraj coped a lot of criticism for his act because Head's dismissal came after the batter had scored 140 runs and effectively taken the game away from India.
Both the players came up with their versions of the incident later on and contradicted each other.
Siraj eventually received a fine of 20 per cent of the match fee and a demerit point too, while Head got away with just a demerit point.
The incident happened on day 2 of the Test on Saturday (Dec 7) after Siraj clean bowled Head with a yorker in Australia's first innings.
As for the match, Australia amassed 337 runs in reply to India's first innings total of 180 and took a hefty lead of 157 runs. The hosts then bowled out India for 175 in the second innings and chased the nominal 19-run target without losing a wicket.
With the win, Australia equalled the five-Test series 1-1 after losing the first game in Perth by 295 runs. The third match of the series is scheduled to be played from December 14 at the iconic Gabba Stadium in Brisbane.