After racial abuse, umpires offered option to leave Sydney Test; Rahane turned it down: Mohammed Siraj

Indian pacer
Mohammed Siraj revealed on Thursday that an offer to leave the third Test had
come from field umpires after racial abuse was flung at him from the stands in
Sydney, with the proposal being turned down by captain Ajinkya Rahane, reports
PTI.

Siraj, alongside
fellow pacer Jasprit Bumrah, had faced racial abuse for two days at the Sydney
Cricket Ground, following which an official complaint was lodged to match referee
David Boon from the Indian management.

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Reportedly called a
‘brown monkey’ by certain spectators amongst the crowd, Siraj reported the issue
to Rahane, who addressed it with on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Paul Wilson.

“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,” PTI quoted the pacer from Hyderabad as
saying.

Six members of the
audience were expelled after the incident, with Cricket Australia promising
strongest possible action against those found guilty.

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Siraj, however,
said that the instance made him mentally stronger.

The right-arm pacer
took a total of 13 wickets during the series which India won with a 2-1 score,
saying however, that he wanted to play on for India and keep performing without
letting the feat get to his head.