Cricket - Fourth Test - India v England - JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi, India - February 23, 2024 India's Mohammed Siraj celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Tom Hartley REUTERS/Amit Dave/ File Photo
(Reuters) - Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head have been slapped with demerit points for their bust-up in the second test between India and Australia while the Indian fast bowler was also fined 20% of his match fee, the International Cricket Council said on Monday.
The duo had a fiery exchange after Siraj dismissed Australia batter Head in the pink ball test in Adelaide, which Australia won by 10 wickets to level the five-match series 1-1 at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
"Siraj has been penalised 20% of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct...," the ICC said in a statement.
"Head too 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 received one demerit point each on their disciplinary records, marking their first offence within the last 24 months."
The ICC added that both players had accepted the sanctions.
Head struck a match-winning 140 before being bowled by Siraj having hit the bowler for a six in the previous ball.
A fired-up Siraj gave a send-off after the dismissal and the duo were seen exchanging words before Head walked off.
Player of the match Head later said he had jokingly said "well bowled" to Siraj, but the Indian bowler contradicted that claim.
Head and Siraj shook hands at the end of play, however, and both sides have tried to play down the incident.
The teams have been involved in several controversies in the past, including the infamous 'monkeygate' scandal, when India spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially abusing Australia's Andrew Symonds during a Sydney test in 2008.
Playing for the same franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has contributed greatly to improve relations among players though and Australia's Josh Hazlewood was rather lenient on his former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate Siraj.
"I really enjoyed my time at RCB with him," Hazlewood said.
"He's another one who's a bit like Virat (Kohli), very passionate, goes with the flow of the game, gets the crowd up.
"He's just a good character and it's good to see sometimes."
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; editing by Christian Radnedge)
