Former England bowler Stuart Broad has criticised the ICC's decision to fine Mohammed Siraj for his send-off of Ben Duckett during the England v India Lord's Test, given that no punishment was imposed for an incident involving Shubman Gill the previous evening.
Mohammed Siraj fined for Duckett send off
Shortly before the start of play for the final day of the tight Test match, the ICC issued an update that Siraj would be docked 15 per cent of his match-fee. The punishment was imposed following incident on Day Four, where Siraj celebrated animatedly after dismissing Ben Duckett, and made contact with the England opener as he walked back to the dressing room.
Siraj was deemed to have breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”
He was subsequently fined and one demerit point was added to his disciplinary record. Siraj now has two demerit points on his record, which applies to the last 24-month period. If a player reached four points in that period, those points will be converted into a suspension.
Broad criticises 'ridiculous' fine
The announcement of Siraj's punishment drew criticism from player-turned-pundit Broad, who branded the decision as 'ridiculous'. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Broad said: "Find this ridiculous. Siraj 15% for aggressive celebration. Gill swears live on tv & carries on and what? It’s either both or neither. Players aren’t and shouldn’t be robots but consistency is key."
Find this ridiculous. Siraj 15% for aggressive celebration. Gill swears live on tv & carries on and what? It’s either both or neither. Players aren’t and shouldn’t be robots but consistency is key https://t.co/5qtpxCmGZs
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) July 14, 2025
The incident Broad was referring to involving Gill happened on the evening of the third day of play. The England openers had to bat out one over before the close of play, having bowled India out with the scores level. With India looking to try and force another over in before stumps, Zak Crawley looked to slow play down, pulling out of his stance before Jasprit Bumrah bowled and calling for the physio with one ball remaining.
India captain Gill was displeased with Crawley, and shouted at him to "grow some f****** balls," with the players standing up to each other in the middle and the umpires intervening. Gill has so far avoided punishment for the incident.
Broad also commented on the ICC's fine system following Jofra Archer's dismissal of Rishabh Pant on the morning of day five. Archer bowled Pant with a beauty which castled his off stump, and shouted at the India wicketkeeper in his follow through celebration. Sharing a video of the wicket, Broad wrote: "Worth 15 percent".
Worth 15% https://t.co/iqS0GnSX1y
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) July 14, 2025
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