Mohammed Siraj fined 20% of his match fee, Travis Head only sanctioned for Adelaide incident

Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head have been penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their on-field spat during the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series at the Adelaide Oval. Indian pacer Siraj was seen giving a send-off to Head after the batter uttered a few words following his dismissal. Head later claimed in the post-match press conference that he was only trying to appreciate Siraj’s bowling while the 30-year-old from Hyderabad has accused him of lying .

Nonetheless, the ICC has fined Siraj 20% of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. Article 2.5 relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon dismissal."

Head not fined match fee

Head was not fined any match fee but he was sanctioned for breaching Article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to the “abuse of a player, player support personnel, umpire or match referee during an international match.”

Siraj and Head also received one demerit point each on their disciplinary records, making it their first offence within the last 24 months.

Both players had earlier admitted their respective offences and accepted the sanctions put forward by Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle.

“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. I feel like the way I play the game I would like a better reaction. I was surprised at the reaction in terms of the situation of the game and the lead-up. There was no confrontation leading up to it," Head had claimed after Day 2 of teh pink-ball Test at Adelaide which Australia won by 10 wickets to level the series 1-1 .

Siraj hit back at Head by saying that: “It’s a lie that he said ‘well bowled’ to me. You can see what he actually said on TV. Initially, I only celebrated but he was the one who started the conversation. In the press conference, he lied that he said ‘well bowled.’ You can go and check the highlights again."

“We don’t disrespect anyone. I respect every cricketer. Cricket is a gentleman’s game but the way acted after getting out was uncalled for,” Siraj said on Star Sports.

The third Australia-India Test will be played at The Gabba in Brisbane from 14 October.