Stuart Broad questions ICC's double standards over Mohammed Siraj punishment

The apex council acted quickly to announce a sanction against Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj. The seamer gave a fiery send-off to Ben Duckett on Day 4 of the third India vs England Test at Lord's. Siraj seemed to get too close to Duckett as the English opener returned to the dugout following his early dismissal in the innings. On Monday, a day after the incident, ICC penalised the seamer, handing him a demerit point and deducting 15% of his match fees. However, Siraj's send-off to Duckett was not the only incident of aggression getting the better of a player in the Lord's Test. Highlighting the same, former English speedster Stuart Broad has questioned ICC over the latest decision.

Stuart Broad calls ICC's decision to penalise Mohammed Siraj 'ridiculous'

The incident that led to Siraj drawing ICC's ire followed a heated conclusion to Day 3 of the Lord's Test. As the day dangled at the edge of culmination, English opener Zak Crawley put his best effort into stalling India's bowling attack. Stopping Bumrah in his run-up thrice, Crawley irked the Indian captain, Shubman Gill. The young leader didn't hold back as he confronted the England batsman for his antics. The 25-year-old made gestures at Crawley as he called for the batter to put up a fight rather than sabotaging the game. "Grow some fu** ba*," Gill shot at Crawley.

The following moments staged the Indian team breaking into a mock applause for Crawley as the batsman halted the game once again. Day 4 started in the same vein as Mohammed Siraj kicked off the proceedings. The pacer made an instant impact, dismissing Duckett, who attempted a lap shot only to hand the cherry into Bumrah's hand. The dismissal was followed by Siraj breaking into an aggressive celebration, rubbing off the wicket right into Duckett's face.

Siraj's actions from Day 4 urged ICC to penalise the pacer, handing him a demerit point and deducting 15% of his match fees for breaching the set Code of Conduct. The decision by ICC, however, has not gone down well with former English seamer Stuart Broad. Broad called out the council for a lack of consistency over such decisions. Drawing a comparison with Gill's actions on Day 3, Broad questioned why only one of them bore ICC's brunt. Stuart Broad highlighted that the board should have either reprimanded both the players or let Siraj alone, calling ICC's decision 'ridiculous'.

“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,” Broad wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

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