‘Travis Head insulted not just Rishabh Pant but 1.5 billion Indians; should be slapped with stringent punishment': Sidhu

Travis Head didn't trouble the scorers much with the bat - he registered scores of 0 and 1 - and yet left a telling impact on the outcome of the fourth Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The left-hander batter, who has been one of India's biggest headaches in the last couple of years, was finally silenced by Jasprit Bumrah. The World's No.1 bowler got him in both innings of the Boxing Day Test but Head dented India with the ball. The handy off-spinner got the all-important wicket of Rishabh Pant just after Tea on Day 5, triggering a dramatic collapse in which India lost 7 wickets in just over an hour to lose the Test match. Travis Head's celebration of Rishabh Pant's wicket did not go down well with former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu

It was a half-tracker from Head that India's talented keeper-batter Pant hit it straight to the deep mid-wicket fielder. The unexpectedness of the wicket was such that Head celebrated in a never-before-seen manner. He created a hole with his left hand and inserted his right index finger in it multiple times. Needless to say, the celebration raised eyebrows.

Sidhu demands “stringent punishment” for Travis Head

Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu was left fuming. He called Head's celebration "obnoxious" and the "worst possible example." The former India opener-turned-politician said it was an insult to 1.5 billion Indians and called for "stringent punishment" so that such an act would not be repeated on the cricket field.

"Travis head’s obnoxious behaviour during the course of the Melbourne test doesn’t auger well for the gentleman’s game…… sets the worst possible example when there are kids, women, young & old watching the game……. this caustic conduct did not insult an individual but a nation of 1.5 billion Indians……stringent punishment that would serve a deterrent for the future generations needs to be slapped on him so that no one dares follow suit !!!" Sidhu wrote on X.

Australia captain Pat Cummins, however, provided an explanation for Head's celebration. "I can explain that. His finger is so hot, that he is going to put it in a cup of ice. Yes, that’s what it is. That’s normally the running joke. Was it at the Gabba or somewhere, where he got a wicket as well and just got straight to the fridge, grabs a bucket of ice, puts his finger in and just walks in front of Lyno (Nathan Lyon). Just like that, I think it's very funny. So that’s what it would have been, nothing else," Cummins told reporters after Australia won the match by 184 runs to go 2-1 up with one match left in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

After Pant's (30) dismissal, India lost six more wickets for just 34 runs in the last session to get bowled out for 155 in pursuit of 340 runs. Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal (84) and Pant, none of the Indian batters got going.

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