Hyderabad: Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj revealed Thursday that on-field umpires had offered his team the option of leaving the third Test against Australia midway. The offer came after Mohammed Siraj was subjected to racial abuse by the crowd in Sydney.
Siraj and his senior pace colleague, Jasprit Bumrah faced racial abuse for two days at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). It forced the Indian team management to lodge an official complaint with match referee David Boon. Cricket Australia (CA) later offered an unreserved apology for the incidents.
Siraj was called a ‘brown monkey’ by some spectators. He had immediately reported the matter to skipper Ajinkya Rahane. The latter brought it to the notice of on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Paul Wilson during the match.
“I faced abuses in Australia. The case is going on, let’s see whether I get justice or not. My job was to report the incident to the captain,” the 26-year-old told a press conference here. Incidentally Siraj was India’s highest wicket-taker with 13 scalps in the historic 2-1 series win. He did not play the first Test.
“The umpires offered us to leave the game but Rahane (bhai) said we won’t leave the game. We did no mistake, so we will play,” Siraj recalled. Siraj recalled about the match that was halted for a few minutes on the fourth day and ended in a thrilling draw.
The fast bowler said the unruly crowd behaviour acted as a morale-booster for him during his debut Test series. “The abuses which I faced in Australia made me mentally stronger. I didn’t let them affect my game,” Siraj said.
Six spectators were expelled from the stadium after play was held up during the match. Cricket Australia has promised to the strongest possible action those found guilty.