When Siraj again came to me, I told the umpires that (they) need to take action: Rahane

2020-21 witnessed India scripting a remarkable turnaround in the series down under after being skittled out for a mortifying 36 in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Series. The team would withstand hell and highwaters alike to reach the Promised Land in the end, riding on the collective efforts of the players.

However, alongside the on-field hostilities, the players were also subjected to racial abuse that created an episode which would totally change the narrative of the contest. Mohammed Siraj would frequently complain of being on the receiving end of slurs from the spectators.

Without the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, India would press their feet on the gas to eventually emerge as the victor in Australia’s fortress Gabba. Banters and sledges continued on the field which are pretty much normal to cricket. However, Sydney witnessed a particular incident that would leave everyone unsettled.

Rahane told ESPN Cricinfo, “(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.”

In fact, the then Indian vice-captain also said that the umpires wanted them to walk out of the field if they didn’t want to play. “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," Rahane revealed.

However, the situation would eventually dissipate after a few fans were evicted from the stands and what followed thereafter was stuff of gold where India would pen history, breaching the Gabbatoir with eminence.