"It looked from outside that punches will be thrown" - Phil Salt opens up on his heated exchange with Mohammed Siraj
Phil Salt was involved in a heated argument on the field with Mohammed Siraj during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capital (DC) and Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB) earlier this year in May.
The incident took place in the fifth over of DC's innings. Salt took Siraj to the cleaners, hitting two sixes and a four off the first three balls. The RCB pacer dished out a bouncer in retaliation.
Salt looked at the square-leg umpire for a wide. The batter was then spotted having an animated chat with the RCB pacer. Non-striker David Warner and RCB skipper Faf du Plessis stepped in to diffuse the situation.
Recalling the verbal exchange, Salt recently stated that it looked from the outside that the two would exchange blows. He said on The DC Podcast:
"It's a storm in a teacup. It looked entertaining from the side. There's a few fingers being pointed in people's faces. Davey came in, a little pitbull came in from the other end to back me up. It looked from outside that punches will be thrown. I started a boxing match with the fingers in faces. But it wasn't like that."
The Delhi-based side trumped RCB in the encounter, successfully chasing down the 182-run target in 16.4 overs with seven wickets in hand. Salt stole the show with a scintillating 87-run knock from just 45 balls. Siraj, on the other hand, had an underwhelming outing as he conceded 28 runs in two overs.
Mohammed Siraj is part of India's Asia Cup 2023 squad
Team India will next be seen in action during the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup, slated to be played in Sri Lanka and Pakistan as per a hybrid model.
Mohammed Siraj is part of India's 17-member squad for the ODI continental showpiece. The fast bowler is currently with the Men in Blue side in Alur, Bengaluru, for a preparatory camp ahead of the tournament.
The Asia Cup is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 30, with Pakistan and Nepal batting it out in the opening contest at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
The Rohit Sharma-led side will open their campaign with a clash against Pakistan on September 2 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka.