Australia’s Travis Head celebrates after scoring a century during the day two of the second cricket test match between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia. (AP)
Travis Head has comfortably settled into the pantomime villain role for Indian cricket fans. The Australian left-hander scored match-winning hundreds in the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup final last year, and has dutifully top-scored in two of the three Tests in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The acrimony, however, has hardly existed off the field. Even his slightly dramatic faceoff with Mohammad Siraj in Adelaide — after which both players were fined and the Aussie crowds got on the Indian bowler’s back — was quickly settled. It seems to be banter, not hatred, between Head and India.
He kept the banter alive in a friendly exchange with ABC Sports aired before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. ABC asked some of the Australian players, tongue in cheek, to describe the BCCI, the ICC, and Indian cricket as a whole in one word each. Some of the answers elicited the giggles one can expect.
The ICC? “Rulers,” says Head. While the BCCI are “second” and Indian cricket is “strong”.
🤭 Describe the BCCI, the ICC and Indian cricket in one word….
Don’t worry everyone, Smudge was just jokin! pic.twitter.com/AxJZJT15P8
— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) December 23, 2024
Former Australia captain Steve Smith was among those to take Head’s line. The 35-year-old described the BCCI as a “powerhouse” before saying the ICC is “not as powerful”. Swift corrections, that Head never bothered with, were made. “No, no I cant say that. That was a joke,” Smith qualified.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy was expected to be fiery given the recent history of rivalry between the two countries. With Australia triumphing over India in two crucial finals, the latter of which was in their backyard, and with India winning the last two Test series in Australia, sparks were expected to fly.
While the cricket has been competitive and, at times, on a knife edge, there has hardly been much of an off-field incident outside of the Head-Siraj tiff. And these friendly exchanges seem to be the way instead.
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