Sunil Gavaskar criticizes Mohammed Siraj for ‘unnecessary’ send-off to Travis Head: ‘…he's being portrayed as the villain'

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed his disapproval of Mohammed Siraj's animated gesture towards Travis Head after dismissing him on Day 2 of the 2nd Test match in Adelaide. Head, who scored a brilliant 140 runs, was sent back to the pavilion by Siraj with a superb yorker, prompting the Indian paceman to give him a fiery send-off. This gesture led to a confrontation between the two players, with Head not backing down either. Unfortunately, Siraj faced backlash from fans and was booed by the 50,000-plus crowd at Adelaide Oval following the incident.

Gavaskar asserted that Siraj's gesture of giving a send-off to a player who scored 140 runs was unnecessary.

“Unnecessary, if you ask me, the man’s got 140, he hasn’t got four or five or something. He got 140, you’re giving him a send-off, that’s totally uncalled for,” Gavaskar said during the tea-time show on Star Sports.

Head single-handedly dominated the Indian bowlers with his counter-attacking approach, as his knock was laced with 17 fours and 4 sixes. He helped Australia secure a commanding 157-run first-innings lead as they posted 337 in reply to India's 180.

Siraj had a chance to send Head back to the pavilion early on 76, but he dropped a tricky catch off Ravichandran Ashwin's delivery.

Gavaskar was not surprised by the reaction Siraj got from the home crowd after his verbal exchange with Head and said that he had a chance to become hero if he had applauded the batter for his knock but it went other way round.

“No wonder he’s getting the stick from the crowd. Travis Head is a local hero and after scoring 100, if he had even just applauded, Siraj would have been a hero for the entire crowd. Instead by giving him a send-off, he’s become the villain," he added.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting suggested that Siraj got a bit frustrated after getting a six by Head on a ball before that.

“Siraj wasn’t happy to be clipped over deep backward square for six,” Ponting said on Channel Seven’s coverage.

“Have a look at Travis Head’s reaction … it was almost like he [Siraj] lost it halfway down. He might have a bit to answer for there as well. That’s what you call the old-fashioned send-off. Umpires and referees don’t see kindly to stuff like that.”