Flare-ups are not uncommon whenever there is a Test series between India and Australia and the first major one of the ongoing rubber seems to be the one between pacer Mohammed Siraj and batter Travis Head. Both players have voiced their views on the issue and after the match on Sunday, it was the turn of captains Pat Cummins of Australia and Rohit Sharma of India to field questions about it.
Cummins in particular was asked a number of questions and he clearly had enough when the last question of post-match press conference was on the issue of Siraj saying that Head had "lied" about what was said in the middle. "I reckon we've spoken enough about that," said Cummins after an Indian journalist asked him about Siraj's accusation before walking off.
The Siraj-Head flare up
The whole matter started with Siraj dismissing Head after the latter blasted 140 runs in just 141 balls in an innings that took the match away from India. India ended up losing the Test by 10 wickets and Australia maintained their dominance pink-ball Tests played in Adelaide. Siraj gave Head a send-off, and the batter responded with a verbal volley of his own.
In the press conference at the end of the day, Head revealed that he said "well bowled" to Siraj after which the Indian pacer gave him an angry send-off which irked him. "It probably [went] a little bit far, that's why I'm disappointed in the reaction I gave back but I'm also going to stand up for myself. 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 team-mates are the same. If I see that, I probably call it out, which I did," said Head.
{{/usCountry}}In the press conference at the end of the day, Head revealed that he said "well bowled" to Siraj after which the Indian pacer gave him an angry send-off which irked him. "It probably [went] a little bit far, that's why I'm disappointed in the reaction I gave back but I'm also going to stand up for myself. 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 team-mates are the same. If I see that, I probably call it out, which I did," said Head.
{{/usCountry}}Siraj, however, said that Head didn't complement him for his bowling at all. "It was a great battle going on [with Head] and he batted really well," Siraj told Star Sports Hindi before the third day's play. "When you get hit for a six on a good ball, it fires you up differently. And when I bowled him, I just 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 said 'well bowled' to me. It's there for everyone to see that that's not what he said to me.