Cricket fans call out 'gutless' move after India star abandons team before loss to Australia

Questions are being asked about why Mohammed Siraj left the field with Australia only needing a handful of runs to win the fifth cricket Test at the SCG, with fans labelling it "weak" and "gutless". Siraj was spotted walking off the field to the dressing rooms on Sunday when Australia were just 18 runs away from victory and claiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Siraj had no intention of returning to the field and being there when the game ended, and had already changed out of his playing whites when the final ball was bowled. To be fair, Siraj bowled himself into the ground across the five Tests and tried his heart out.

The 157 overs he bowled in the series were only second to Pat Cummins' 167, and he finished as India's second-top wicket-taker with 20 (behind Jasprit Bumrah's 32). However he made a woeful start to Australia's run chase on Sunday and let them get off to a flying start with some wayward bowling.

When his final spell came to a conclusion, he took his hat from the umpire and immediately headed to the dressing room, looking completely spent. The Indian camp didn't make mention of any injury that Siraj picked up, and many interpreted the move as a dummy spit when the game was out of reach. It also seemed to show the fractured nature of the Indian team, with claims emerging that the squad was divided throughout the series.

One pundit wrote on social media: "Siraj walking off the field with 18 runs left to defend speaks volumes. He’s gutless when things aren’t going his way and is utterly dependent on Bumrah applying pressure."

Others noted that none of the Australian players would ever leave the field like that, labelling his actions "classless" and "graceless". One fan commented: "Siraj wants to give everyone a send off when he gets a wicket but then walks off the field when Australia have 18 runs to win."

India refuse to blame injuries after series loss to Australia

Siraj's early departure meant India didn't have either of their two strike bowlers on the field when the game ended. Captain Jasprit Bumrah didn't bowl on Sunday after picking up a back injury, and the Aussies admitted their tricky chase of 162 was made much easier by Bumrah's absence.

Bumrah had tormented Usman Khawaja all series, but with the Indian star missing the Aussie opener made 41 in a match-sealing innings for Australia. But Indian coach Gautam Gambhir would not speculate on what might have been if the talismanic Bumrah finished the game.

"I don't want to say that because Jasprit Bumrah wasn't there we couldn't get the result," he said. "Obviously we had our moments and it would've been nice if he would've been there. But we still had five bowlers and a good team is one which is not dependent on one individual. We didn't get the result, as simple as it can get. We lost the series."

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Bumrah took his 32 wickets at an incredible average of 13.06, winning player of the series despite the 3-1 loss. He became just the second Indian to win the individual award in a losing series after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in 1999/2000.

But the 31-year-old seemingly ran himself into the ground as he carried India's bowling attack on his back. "A little frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body. You can't fight your body," he said after the SCG Test. "A little disappointing that I probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series but that's the way it is."

with AAP