Mohammed Siraj, Travis Head found guilty of breaching ICC's Code of Conduct, likely to be 'punished'

Travis Head and Mohammed Siraj have been found guilty of breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct during the second Test between Australia and India in Adelaide, and are set to be “punished” for their offence. According to multiple reports, including the ones carried by The Daily Telegraph and CODE Sports, Indian pacer Siraj and Australian middle-order batter Head were found guilty at a disciplinary hearing that took place on Monday, a day after the hosts leveled the series with a clinical 10-wicket victory .

The duo, however, will likely be fined or reprimanded by the ICC instead of facing a suspension as a result of having a good past record. The exact punishment, however, is yet to be confirmed.

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The unsavoury showdown between Head and Siraj had taken place on Saturday, Day 2 of the pink-ball Test. Head helped Australia tighten their grip on the match with a magnificent century – his eighth in Tests and his third at the Adelaide Oval, his home ground. After breaking his own record for the fastest century in day-night Tests (111 balls), Head was batting on 140 off as many deliveries when he missed a low full toss from Siraj that was intended to be a yorker.

The dismissal would then be followed by a send-off from the feisty Indian pacer, with Head not holding himself back at exchanging a few words with Siraj before making his way back to the Indian dressing room. The crowd at the Adelaide gave the southpaw a standing ovation for what effectively was a match-winning knock, though not before booing Siraj for his animated gestures.

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Siraj would continue to be at the receiving end of jeers from the Adelaide crowd for the remainder of the evening, as well as on the following day when he had walked out to bat alongside Jasprit Bumrah with India on the verge of defeat. And given the history of the Australian cricket summer, the crowds at Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney are likely to continue targeting the Hyderabadi pacer in the remainder of the series.

The two players, however, would come up with contrasting responses after the incident. Head, for one, claimed he did not abuse Siraj after his dismissal , and had simply said “well bowled”.

“I said ‘well bowled’ but he thought otherwise … when he pointed me to the sheds he got a little bit back from me. I’m slightly disappointed with how that transpired, with a couple of the past innings. It is what it is. If they want to react like that and that’s how they want to represent themselves, then so be it," Head told Fox Cricket after stumps on Saturday.

Siraj, however, labelled Head a liar while speaking to Indian spin legend Harbhajan Singh in an interview for Star Sports the following morning.

“It was a great battle going on (with Head) and he batted really well. When you get hit for a six on a good ball, it fires you up differently,” Siraj told Star Sports Hindi.

“And when I got him bowled, I only celebrated and he abused me and you saw that on TV too. 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," the 30-year-old added.

The two captains – Australia’s Pat Cummins and India’s Rohit Sharma – did not have any issues with either player, saying the on-field showdown between the two individuals was along expected lines in a series as heated and intensely fought as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.