'Someone needs to have chat with him': Ex-Australia captain tears into Mohammed Siraj for 'disrespecting umpires'
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor did not mince his words as he called out Mohammed Siraj for ‘disrespecting umpires’.
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor highlighted Mohammed Siraj's habit of making 'celebrappeals' without looking behind towards the umpires. The 30-year-old Indian pacer is in the middle of a huge controversy after he had an altercation with Travis Head during the Adelaide pink-ball Test. The fiery exchange between the two led to Siraj being docked 20 per cent of his match fees. Both Siraj and Head were also sanctioned and one demerit point was given to both of them.
In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Siraj has on two occasions assumed that an LBW decision would be given in his favour. In Adelaide, the pacer assumed that he had Labuschagne plumb in front, however, replays showed a big inside edge.
Mark Taylor has now said that this behaviour is disrespectful to the game and someone needs to have a chat with Siraj.
"My biggest concern with Mohammed is this desire to assume that umpires are going to give dismissals," Mark Taylor told Channel Nine.
“I don’t like him running down the pitch when he hits a guy on the pads, going past the batsman, assuming he’s going to be given out, without showing respect to the umpire and the game to at least have a look at the decision. I think Mohammed ... someone needs to have a chat with him about that," he added.
'Didn't like the send-off'
Mark Taylor also stated that he did not like the send-off that Mohammed Siraj gave to Travis Head after getting him out. The Indian pacer's signal to the dressing room raised quite a few eyebrows and in the end, the ICC stepped in by docking his match fees.
"I love the combative nature of Head and Siraj, but it has to be kept in check. Because the last thing we want to see in this game is that developing into a batsman maybe whacking a bowler," said Mark Taylor.
"They get close together in that sort of situation and you don’t want to see that. So the administrators need to keep a check on that, and so do the two captains. I didn’t like the send-off from Mohammed Siraj," he added.
Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head, however, seemed to have buried the hatchet after the end of the Adelaide Test as the duo were seen exchanging pleasantries after Australia's win.
Earlier, India captain Rohit Sharma had stated that Siraj strives on confrontation and it brings the best out in him.
"He likes to get into the battle. It gives him success. As a captain, it is my job to back that aggression. There is a fine line we don’t want to cross anything that can bring the dispute into the game, but having a word or two with the opposition is not a bad thing and he likes it. That’s what gets him going," said Rohit at the post-match press conference.
"In the past, we’ve seen so many cricketers who like that battle, and Siraj is definitely one of them. But there’s a thin line between getting aggressive and getting too aggressive and crossing that line. For a captain, it is also my responsibility to make sure we don’t cross the line. But a word or two there I don’t think makes a difference," he added.
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