"Really enjoyed my time at RCB with him" - Josh Hazlewood on Mohammed Siraj amid pacer's verbal spat with Travis Head in BGT 2024-25 2nd Test

Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood has revealed that he had a great time with Mohammed Siraj during his stint with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL. With Siraj grabbing the spotlight after his verbal altercation with Travis Head at the Adelaide Oval, the New South Wales seamer compared him to Virat Kohli.

With Head slamming Siraj for a six and the right-arm speedster dismissing him soon after on Day 2 of the second Test, the Hyderabad-born cricketer gave the southpaw a fiery send-off. Later, the 30-year-old said that Head had abused him; the South Australian had earlier claimed that all he said was 'well bowled'.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Hazlewood observed Siraj's passionate nature and called him the leader of the attack at RCB. As quoted by Perth Now, the 33-year-old stated:

"I really enjoyed my time at RCB with him. He's probably the leader of the attack there, to a degree. He's another one who's a bit like Virat (Kohli), very passionate, goes with the flow of the game, gets the crowd up. (He has) bowled serious spells in the IPL in the last few years. He's just a good character and it's good to see sometimes."

Siraj struggled slightly in the Adelaide Test as compared to the series-opener in Perth. However, he still snared four wickets in Australia's first innings, dismissing Head, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.

"It'll be how I pull up in the 24 hours following it" - Josh Hazlewood on his chances of playing in Brisbane

Josh Hazlewood. (Image credits: Getty)

Speaking about his chances of playing in Brisbane after missing the Adelaide Test due to a side strain, Hazlewood remained unsure. The veteran stated that he would have played in Adelaide had it been the final Test of the summer.

"It'll be how I pull up in the 24 hours following it. (It's about) cooling down pretty much fully and then going again in the same day, and the intensity has got to be right up there as well," he said (as per the aforementioned source). "I think if this (Adelaide) was the last Test of the summer, I could have potentially ran the gauntlet and played. I think I would have been in a pretty bad state by the end of the game - even though it was only a short game, it just wasn't quite right."

Scott Boland, who played in Hazlewood's absence, made a promising contribution, picking up five wickets across both innings in Australia's 10-wicket victory.