Sunil Gavaskar foresees crowd targeting Mohammed Siraj following Travis Head controversy: 'Main antagonist'

During Day 2 of the Adelaide pink-ball Test, tensions escalated between Siraj and Head. After the fast bowler sent the left-handed batsman back to the pavilion with a jaw-dropping yorker, he delivered a fiery send-off that did not sit well with Head, who went on to score a game-changing 140 runs.

The Adelaide crowd also started to boo Siraj once they saw the hometown hero walking back to the hut. Sunil Gavaskar recalled how Stuart Broad was mercilessly booed in Australia during the 2013-14 Ashes after one of his acts rubbed the Australian public the wrong way in the previous series in England.

“Siraj is going to get a bit of spit from the crowd wherever he goes from now because once the Australians identify somebody who is supposed to be the villain of the piece, then they will get stuck into him. For England, it has been Stuart Broad when he travels, there have been front-page articles encouraging the Australians to boo him when Broad didn't walk when he edged the ball to slip,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“I think for the Australian side, Siraj is going to be the villain and he will have to face up to it. It will be important for the rest of the team to come to his side and tell him, ‘Listen. You go out and do your best’,” he added.

On Day 2 of the Adelaide Test, Travis Head said that he just told Siraj ‘well bowled’ after he took his wicket, however, still the pacer decided to say some nasty things. In the end, the batter said that he was always going to stand up for himself and nothing can be done if the Indian team wants to represent themselves like that.

However, on the very next day, on the morning of the Test match, Mohammed Siraj gave an interview to broadcaster Star Sports, saying Travis Head never said ‘well bowled’ and he accused the batter of “lying”.

Once the match ended and Australia registered an emphatic ten-wicket win, Siraj and Head were seen exchanging pleasantries and hugging each other.

After the game ended, Travis Head told ABC Sport that the entire matter between him and Siraj was now over.

With the win in the Adelaide Test, Australia have levelled the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Both India and Australia will now square off in the third Test at Gabba, Brisbane, beginning December 14.