Siraj has been in the headlines over the past week following a verbal exchange between him and Australian batter Travis Head during the second India-Australia Test in Adelaide. Yesterday, the ICC announced that Siraj had been fined 20% of his match fee and handed one demerit point for his send-off. Head was not fined, but also received a demerit point.
Mark Taylor: I don't like Siraj assuming batters are going to be given out
On Tuesday, former Australian skipper Mark Taylor told Nine that he "didn't like the send-off from Siraj," but brought up another tendency of the bowler which he felt was a bigger issue.
"My biggest concern with Mohammed is this desire to assume that umpires are going to give dismissals," Taylor said. "I don’t like him running down the pitch when he hits a guy on the pads, going past the batsman, assuming he’s going to be given out, without showing respect to the umpire and the game to at least have a look at the decision. I think Mohammed ... someone needs to have a chat with him about that."
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Perhaps more serious for Siraj than the perceived disrespecful nature of the "celebrappeal" is the threat of sanctions for it – something the ICC's Code of Conduct provides for.
Article 2.1 of the Code of Conduct applicable from June 16, 2023 says that players can be found guilty of a Level 1 offence for "excessive appealing during an international match".
Details of the article outline that "For the purpose of Article 2.1, ‘excessive’ may include celebrating a dismissal without appealing to the Umpire when a decision is required. It is not intended to prevent loud or enthusiastic appealing."
Siraj (or anyone else)'s celebrappeal could well fall under the ambit of this article. Level 1 offences are punished with a warning and/or a fine of upto 50% of a player's match fee. One demerit point is awarded if the fine is 25% or lower, and two if it is higher.
Celebrappealing – Yay or nay?
However, it is worth noting that while the provision exists, players are very rarely charged for the celebrappeal. England seamer Stuart Broad made this a trademark of sorts throughout his career, without copping any real punishment.
Australia's Mitchell Marsh also pulled off a celebrappeal during the first Test of this series in Perth, when he dismissed Washington Sundar in the first innings, and Aaron Hardie did so in a T20I against Pakistan last month, to name a few recent examples.
File this one away in the all-time celebrappeal category 😂
— Aussies Army🏏🦘 (@AussiesArmy) November 22, 2024
#AUSvINDIA pic.twitter.com/9nhwmxkcZx
There is bound to be some level of inconsistency in these calls, given that they are subjective in nature and left to the umpires. But there have also been multiple instances of players being sanctioned.
South Africa's Makhaya Ntini and Charl Langeveldt were fined 15% of their match fee for "celebrating a dismissal before the decision has been given" during an ODI against West Indies in 2005.
In the same Test series in June 2006, India's Virender Sehwag was fined 20% of his match fee and West Indies' Pedro Collins was reprimanded for the same offence. In December that year, Australia's Brett Lee was fined 25% of his match fee against England.
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England's Monty Panesar was fined 25% of his match fee for this offence against West Indies in 2009, with teammate Amjad Khan reprimanded for celebrating down at fine leg before a decision had been given, in the same match. Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan was also fined 10% of his match fee during a Test against England in 2012.
From the list of Code of Conduct breaches available on the ICC's website, no player has been sanctioned for celebrating without appealing since at least September 2016, over eight years ago now.
Virat Kohli, however, was charged in this timeframe with excessive appealing after "moving toward umpire Aleem Dar in an aggressive manner" while appealing for an lbw dismissal during a 2019 World Cup match against Afghanistan. He was hit with one demerit point and fined 25% of his match fee.
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