Josh Hazlewood goes in to bat for former IPL team-mate Mohammed Siraj after his heated spat with Aussie star Travis Head

Mohammed Siraj has received the backing from Aussie pace bowler Josh Hazlewood, following his on-field spat with Travis Head.

The foray has been the big talking point from Australia’s second-Test victory against India this weekend, with Pat Cummins’ side sealing a 10-wicket victory on Sunday to draw level with the tourists in the series.

While an official announcement is still to be made, Code Sports are reporting that Head and Siraj have both been found guilty of breaching cricket’s code of conduct following a hearing on Sunday night that took place in front of cricket referee Ranjun Madugalle.

Head had inspired Australia to the victory with an excellent 140 runs from 141 deliveries. Siraj would ultimately claim the Aussie Test star’s wicket, finding his stumps with a full delivery.

Tempers subsequently flared as the Aussie walked from his crease, with the batsman, with Siraj giving Head a strong send-off, one which Head seemingly didn’t take well to.

In the wake of the incident, commentators from around the world of cricket have offered their views on the matter, with ex-Aussie Test star Michael Clarke notably slamming Siraj for making a habit of doing ‘celebrappeals’ – celebrating wickets without appealing to the umpires.

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar claimed that Siraj became the ‘villain’ after giving local hero, Head, a send-off, while Aussie icon Kerry O’Keeffe added: ‘I don’t know whether a send-off is valid when a bloke’s [scored] 140…’

Despite this, Hazlewood has come to the defence of the India pace bowler, after he also received some flack from fans online.

The pair had played together previously with IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

‘He’s great. I really enjoyed my time at RCB with Siraj,’ Hazlewood said. ‘He’s probably the leader of the attack there to a degree.

‘He’s another one who’s a bit like Virat [Kohli], very passionate, goes with the flow of the game, gets the crowd up, all that sort of stuff.

‘Bowled some serious spells in the IPL in the last few years, for sure. He’s just a good character and it’s good to see sometimes.’

Hazlewood, meanwhile, also went on to address the divisive comment he made after the first Test in Perth, in which he appeared to hint that divisions were starting to appear in the Aussie dressing room.

Hazlewood had been asked about Australia’s plans to thwart India’s 522-run lead at the end of day three. 

The bowler replied: ‘You probably have to ask one of the batters that question.’

Reflecting on the comment, ex-Aussie cricketing star Adam Gilchrist inferred that there was a potential ‘division’ in the camp, comments that several of the team’s stars, including captain Cummins, have rejected.

Hazlewood, meanwhile, has followed his captain, stating that there was nothing in the comment.

‘A little bit surprised,’ The 33-year-old said when pressed on the reaction from his comments.

‘Walking out of that press conference, I thought nothing of it, (it was) a normal one for me.

‘I think obviously the dead air there for a while, 10 days between games, [it was] something to talk about.

‘I think that stuff’s all done now.’

Will Hazlewood return for the third Test?

The pace bowler had been omitted from Australia’s Test squad to play against India this week in Adelaide, after suffering a side strain in the wake of the Perth Test.

Scott Boland was subsequently parachuted into the side, with the Victoria quick taking five wickets across two innings in South Australia.

On Monday, Hazlewood had took part in an extended bowling session as he looks to make his case to return to the starting XI.

Cummins had inferred that he was ‘fairly confident Hazlewood would be right for Brisbane’ later this week, while Hazlewood added the next 24 hours would be imperative in his recovery.

‘It’s not necessarily your typical side strain, which I’ve had a couple in my career,’ he said.

‘It’s caused me a lot of trouble over the last few years, but perfect prep this year (heading into the first Test).

‘I played the Shield game and ticked all that off and I was very happy where I was and it still happened, so I was pretty annoyed for a few days.

‘If this (Adelaide) was the last Test of the summer, I could have potentially run the gauntlet and played.

‘I think I would have been in a pretty bad state by the end of the game, even though it was only a short (match) but it just wasn’t quite right.’

With Starc taking career-best figures of 6-48 on Friday and Boland taking 51-3 in India’s second innings, Cummins said he ‘felt lucky’ about the ‘tools he had at his disposal’.

‘I thought it was a Herculean effort from Starcy and Scotty,’ Cummins said.

‘It was hot … humid, and basically just kept rotating the bowlers and bowling all day. Huge effort from those guys, who showed their class.

‘I feel very lucky as a captain to have those guys, and then having someone like (Nathan Lyon), who we didn’t even need to call on.

‘It feels [like] I’ve got a lot of tools at my disposal, so I feel very lucky.’