India captain Rohit Sharma chose to not read too much into the ugly face-off between Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head in the Adelaide Test against Australia and said “these things happen”, while speaking to the media after India’s defeat in the pink-ball match.
India lost to Australia by 10 wickets inside three days, even as the Siraj vs Head controversy remained one of the talking points on the third day.
The five-match series is now level at 1-1. India won the first Test of this Border Gavaskar Trophy in Perth by 295 runs.
“Siraj likes to get in the battle. As a captain, it is my job to back that aggression, but there’s a fine line. But having a word or two with the opposition is not a bad thing. There’s a thin line between aggressive and too aggressive. It is my responsibility to ensure it doesn’t go over the line,” Rohit said.
The skipper, who missed the Perth game as he was on paternity leave following the birth of his second child, said Siraj thrives in such situations, but what happens on the field stays on the field.
However, the controversy got further fueled on Sunday when Siraj claimed that Head never said “well bowled” to him, which the Australian batter told the media at the end of second day’s play.
“Siraj knows what he needs to do for the team,” Rohit continued. “His job is to take wickets and he will do everything to make it happen. Things that happen on the outside are left outside. Guys are mature enough to deal with it,” said the skipper.
“Two competitive teams are going at each other, these things happen. Travis wanted to score runs and we wanted wickets. A few words were exchanged. I don’t know what was said. I have to focus on the overall picture, the Test. I don’t think we can look too much into it,” Rohid added to conclude.
The teams will now head to Brisbane, where the third Test will begin on December 14.
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