Mohammed Siraj has fired back at Travis Head, claiming the Australian star lied about their on-field altercation as the ICC prepares to sanction both players.
The pair were involved in a heated exchange on Saturday night when Head was dismissed by the Indian seamer after making 140 from 141 deliveries.
Siraj would celebrate and give Head an old-fashioned send-off, to which the Aussie hit back with a couple of expletives on his way to the pavilion.
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Speaking to media after the close of play, Head revealed he told Siraj, “Well bowled” after the ball that ended his innings before the subsequent reaction.
However, in an interview with Indian TV channel Star Sports, which translated from Hindi to English, it was a different series of events from Siraj’s perspective.
Mohammed Siraj gives Travis Head a send off. Getty
“My celebration after bowling him – I was just celebrating, but his abusive reaction can be seen on television,” he told the broadcaster.
“If you see, at the start I didn’t say a word – I was just celebrating only initially.
“Later, at the press conference, he said wrong things – he claimed he said ‘well bowled’ to me. But that’s a lie. There was no ‘well bowled’ that I could see. And he talked about respect. I mean, we respect everyone. We don’t disrespect.
“I always have respected people as cricket is a gentleman’s game. But what he did wasn’t right. I didn’t like it at all.”
According to a report from The Sydney Morning Herald, both players will front an ICC hearing before match referee Ranjan Madugalle, but neither will be suspended and instead could face a monetary fine.
The pair met in the middle and exchanged some words on Sunday as the hosts clinched a 10-wicket victory and Head said there was no ill feelings between them.
“He just said it was a misunderstanding as well, and there was no issues for me,” he told ABC. We move on. I’m sweet. It is what it is.”
