After India lifted the Border Gavaskar trophy at the picturesque HPCA stadium in Dharamsala, Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said he no longer considers Australian cricketers his friends.
Kohli and his men were targetted both on and off the field by Australian cricketers in a fiercely-fought Test series.
A lot was said before the tour started and the verbal battle between the Indian and Australian camps intensified during the four-match series.
Not one for running away from confrontations, Kohli strongly attacked his visiting counterparts, saying he no longer considered Australian cricketers his friends after being targeted by present and former players and not to mention their media.
A major controversy erupted following Steve Smith’s infamous ‘DRS Brain Fade’ moment, for which Kohli had stopped short of calling Smith a cheat.
Henceforth, Kohli was frequently targeted both on and off the field, with Glenn Maxwell mocking the skipper’s shoulder injury, while the Australian media went as far as comparing Kohli to the controversial United States President Donald Trump.
Asked by an Australian scribe if he still considered Smith’s men his friends off the field as he had said at the start of the series, Kohli said, “No, it has changed for sure. I thought that was the case but it has changed for sure. As I said in the heat of the battle, you want to be competitive but yeah I have been proven wrong.”
“The thing I said before the first Test, I have certainly been proven wrong and you won’t hear me say that ever again,” he told reporters in Dharamsala
after India won the fourth and final Test match by eight wickets to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-1
series victory.
To make things worse, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland told a radio station that Kohli perhaps does not know the spelling of sorry.
Meanwhile on the field, Smith allegedly used cuss words against Murali Vijay for claiming Josh Hazlewood’s catch, which was later given ‘Not Out’ by the TV umpire.
However, the next day the Aussie skipper apologised for letting his emotions slip during the hard-fought contest.
“At times I have been in my own bubble and have let my emotions slip. I apologise for that,” Smith said.
“It was a magnificent series. One of the best I have been a part of. Credit to India, they are a fantastic cricket side, particularly in their backyard. If you give them a sniff, they will take that,” he added.
later on Monday, Matthew Wade and Ravindra Jadeja had a near bust up after a lengthy altercation.
However, Kohli does not look to back off his aggressive nature and announced that his teammates would give it right back when poked.
“Regardless of whether we are on top or not, we speak, if something pokes us we speak and give it right back. All people don’t digest it well but we take it very well and we give it back even better,” Kohli said.
He also had a word or two for his critics.
“Some people want to create some spice sitting at some part of the world. They don’t confront such situations themselves. The easiest thing to do is to just sit at home and write a blog or speak on Mic but to go out there and bowl and bat is different,” Kohli added.