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Mohammed Siraj, left, celebrates the dismissal of Ben Duckett, right, during the fourth day of the third cricket Test between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London. (AP Photo)
India’s Mohammed Siraj has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for his sendoff to Ben Duckett after dismissing the England batter in the third Test at Lord’s. Siraj’s aggressive celebrations after picking up Duckett’s wicket included their shoulders brushing against each other as the England batter walked back to the hut. Siraj also let out a couple of roars and stared at the batter in anger.
The incident happened in the second innings of England, when Siraj dismissed Duckett for 12 to give India its first wicket. Just two balls earlier, the batter had hit Siraj for a boundary. But the pacer had hit back after managing to get Duckett to hit the ball into the palms of Jasprit Bumrah.
The Indian pacer has also been docked a demerit point – his second in a 24-month period. This means that Siraj is walking a tightrope going forward: four or more demerit points within a 24-month period are converted into suspension points and a player is banned.
An ICC statement on the incident noted that the Indian pacer “was guilty of breaching Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”
The ICC statement added: “After the dismissal, Siraj celebrated close to the batter in his follow-through and made contact as Duckett began his walk back to the Lord’s long room.”
The game has seen tempers rise as both sides are trying to win the Lord’s Test and take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. The third Test — and the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy — is finely poised with India needing 135 runs more to secure their second victory in the series. England, meanwhile, need six wickets to go 2-1 up.
“Find this ridiculous. Siraj (fined) 15% for aggressive celebration. Gill swears live on tv & carries on and what? It’s either both or neither. Players aren’t and shouldn’t be robots but consistency is key,” wrote former England cricketer Stuart Broad on X.
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