Mohammed Siraj booed: Gavaskar calls out double standards of Australia ‘saints’

Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the Australia cricket stars and the public for showing Mohammed Siraj in poor light following his altercation with Travis Head during the Adelaide Test.

Siraj gave an animated send-off to Head after dismissing the Aussie batter on Day 2 of the match. Siraj was booed by the Adelaide crowd each time he was bowling or while batting.

This would continue in Brisbane as the crowd continued to jeer the Indian pacer each time he came on to bowl. In his column for the Sydney Morning Herald, Gavaskar called out the double-standards of the Australian public and claimed that they would have been cheering their own player if he had done the same to an opposition star.

“Siraj is getting the stick from all the “saints” in Australian cricket who, of course, were known for their impeccable behaviour on the field. It may have incensed Australian fans that Siraj’s fiery send-off was directed at Head, who scored a magnificent century and was also the local boy.”

“But the same people will cheer if an Aussie quick gives a similar send-off to an English batter during next summer’s Ashes. There were some suggestions in the media that the Australians should get back to being the mongrels they once were. So, do mongrels simply purr, or do they bark, too?” said Gavaskar.

Siraj and Head were given demerit points by the ICC for their actions, with the pacer also slashed 20 percent of his match fees.

Siraj’s outburst was surprising
Gavaskar went on to say that he did find Siraj’s outburst surprising, especially given that the animosity between the teams has been reduced with the arrival of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Siraj’s outburst was surprising because if the Indian Premier League has done one thing, apart from making Aussie cricketers and coaches millionaires, it has also taken away to a huge extent the animosity that previously existed in the game,” said Gavaskar.