Mohammed Siraj vs Travis Head: Who Is At The Fault?

During the second day of the Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head argued. Many people consider Travis Head the abuser, while some say Siraj is the villain. Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar also considered Siraj the villain.

What actually happened?
Travis Head was bowled by Mohammed Siraj in the 82nd over of the innings. After picking up the wicket, Siraj gave Head a send-off, which the Head disliked. Later, Head claimed that he jokingly said “well bowled” to Mohammed Siraj after his wicket but didn’t receive a good response from Siraj.

“I actually jokingly said ‘well bowled’, then he pointed me in the sheds and I had my reaction as well. I don’t want to give it too much airtime. Like to think in our team we wouldn’t do that. (It’s) not the way I’d like to play the game and feel like my teammates are the same. If I see that, I probably call it out, which I did,” Head told the reporters at the press conference.

Team India’s Statement.
Team India has finally issued an official statement on the altercation. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel defended Siraj by claiming that he gives his 100% with the ball, irrespective of the situation. Morkel further mentioned that such moments will be there in such a big series as both players play the game hard.

“Yes, Siraj is the type of player that gives 100% when ball when ball in hand. And I think that is, you know, the character that he brings to the bowling unit. He will always run in all day no matter what the scoreboard says, and I think in a big match like that, you’re always going to have moments like this when it’s a sort of, I wouldn’t say make or break sort if situation, but when a session or a game is potentially on the line,” Morkel stated.

Siraj’s Response
“I only celebrated at the start, I didn’t say anything to him. What he said in the press conference wasn’t right, it’s a lie that he only said ‘well bowled’ to me. It’s there for everyone to see that that’s not what he said to me. We respect everyone, it’s not like we disrespect other players. I respect everybody because cricket is a gentleman’s game, but what he did wasn’t right. I didn’t like it at all,” Siraj said.

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar thinks that Siraj is the villain in the issue. He thinks that Siraj’s reaction is unnecessary. “You don’t give a send-off to someone who’s batted brilliantly and won the crowd over. Instead of becoming a hero for dismissing him, Siraj has become the villain,” said Gavaskar, adding, “If Siraj had simply applauded Head after that dismissal, he would have been a hero for everyone in the stadium. Instead, he got the stick from the crowd, and understandably so.”