Image: Sunil Gavaskar has backed Mohammed Siraj to respond strongly to the Australians / © Free Press Journal
At Adelaide in the 2nd Test between Australia and India, there were some tough moments for Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj, who got into a verbal altercation with Australian batter Travis Head. Despite his spirited performance, which saw Siraj dismiss Head, the Australian crowd subjected him to boos. Siraj was also targeted with short-pitched deliveries when he came out to bat.
However, Sunil Gavaskar firmly backed Siraj, expressing confidence that the bowler would strike back at the Australians with even more intensity in the third Test at The Gabba in Brisbane. Gavaskar remarked that Siraj wouldn’t be fazed by the hostility and would retaliate when he had the ball in hand. He said:
Siraj is a number 10 batter. No big deal. If somebody is bowling a bouncer, he is going to struggle. So you can’t really fault him for that. Whatever happened, clearly, I think the Australians are charged up. They were looking to get back at Siraj, but I don’t think is going to be bothered by that. When he has the ball in his hand in Gabba, he is going give it back to them doubly in kind.
He also critiqued India’s bowling strategy, pointing out that they should have exploited Travis Head’s discomfort with bouncers earlier, as Head had struggled against such deliveries in previous matches.