Opening up about the verbal spat between Indian skipper Virat Kohli and England cricketer Ben Stokes, pacer Mohammad Siraj said that Stokes had abused him after he bowled a bouncer. The fast bowler also mentioned that he had informed Virat Kohli about the situation and that he had handled it.

"Ben Stokes gave me gali (abused me) so I told Virat bhai about that. Virat bhai handled it thereafter," Siraj was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes downplayed the issue and said that it was merely a conversation between two competitors. "The thing in cricket nowadays is that it becomes a massive talking point when two opponents have a word with each other. People seem, I do not know, not lose their heads but they think it is all wrong," Ben Stokes mentioned during a press conference. "Look at it from a different way, guys care about what they are doing and what they are representing. Playing against each other, we are competitors and we are not going to back down to anyone, whoever it may be. It is nice to see two competitors going toe to toe against each other and no one is backing down. For me, that was it, two competitive guys trying to get over each other," the batsman added.

The incident happened on the first day of the fourth and final Test between England and India in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium. Immediately after Ben Stokes came into bat following the dismissal of captain Joe Root, Mohammed Siraj bowled out a bouncer to finish the 13th over when Stokes began arguing with the pacer. Virat Kohli intervened in a while and a heated exchange between the duo ensued. A video of the altercation went viral on social media.