The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 is something which Indian fans cherish even today. Despite missing several of their key players, the Asian side went on to beat Australia by 2-1. The fact that it came after they were bundled for 36 in the first of the four-match Test series was icing over the cake.
Ajinkya Rahane’s inspirational leadership during the tour was praised by one and all. Moreover, his hundred during the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was one of the turning points of the series. As for the Third Test of the series, which took place at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), it witnessed a major controversy.
A section of Australian fans from the stands were passing derogatory comments on Mohammed Siraj. India’s then skipper Rahane recently said that the pacer had complained about the same to him at that time as well. The batter spoke about how he told this to the umpires.
“We insisted on getting the abusers out of the ground. When Siraj again came to me [on the fourth day, after being abused the day before], I told the umpires that [they] need to take action and we won’t play till then,” said Ajinkya Rahane during the trailer launch of Bandon Mein Tha Dum ( a documentary on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21).
It is to be noted that the umpires during that game were Paul Reiffel and Paul Wilson. Further on, Rahane went on to make a shocking revelation. He said that the umpires said that they were free to walk out, and couldn’t stall the game. However, the Mumbai batter said that they refused to do the same, and decided to continue with the game as they were here for that. Last but not the least, he spoke about how important it was to take a stand for his colleague.
“The umpires said that you can’t stall the game and can walk out if you want. We said that we are here to play and not sit in the dressing room and insisted on getting the abusers out of the ground. It was important to support our colleague given the situation he had been through. What happened in Sydney was completely wrong,” he added.
