New Delhi: India skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday downplayed controversial remarks about ditching Australian cricketers as friends, saying his comments were blown out of proportion and he remained on good terms with some players.
Kohli, who captained India to victory in the emotionally-charged four-Test series, told reporters after the decisive Dharamsala match that he would never consider Australian players as friends again.
Australian media labelled Kohli’s remarks “classless” in the wake of a series marked by controversies that India claimed 2-1.
But the Indian skipper sought to clear the air on Thursday as he prepares to share a dressing room with Australian players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament.
“My answer at the post match conference has been blown way out of proportion,” Kohli posted on his official Twitter account.
“I did not categorically say the whole Australian team but only a couple of individuals.
“I continue to be in good terms with the few guys I know & who I’ve played with at RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) & that doesn’t change.”
Kohli led RCB to the final last year with Australian players Mitchell Starc, Shane Watson and Travis Head.
While Starc will not join RCB for the upcoming season starting April 5, Watson and Head will play side by side with Kohli at the Indian club.
The hotly-anticipated Test series was overshadowed by bitter exchanges, most notably when Kohli all but accused his counterpart Steve Smith of cheating after the Australian skipper looked to his dressing room while deciding whether to review an lbw dismissal in the second Test.
Done and dusted
Rules forbid players from consulting with anyone off the pitch about whether to seek a review from the umpires.
A war of words ensued and the cricket boards of India and Australia intervened but even a clear-the-air meeting between the skippers failed to smooth things over.
Smith sidestepped the spat Thursday as he concentrated on his upcoming captaincy of IPL side Rising Pune Supergiant.
“Look, the series is done and dusted, it’s time to move on,” Smith told reporters.
“I spoke after the game that India outplayed us and won the series 2-1.”
Smith’s IPL teammate Ajinkya Rahane, who stood in as captain for the injured Kohli in the deciding Test this week, also called for the hatchet to be buried.
“What happens on the ground stays on it. Our focus is on IPL,” said Rahane.
As the bitter series wrapped up, Smith revealed that an invitation extended to India for reconciliation drinks was rebuffed, but Rahane said there was no issue.
“We had our own get-together in our own dressing room so I was actually busy there. We were enjoying each other’s company after a well-fought series,” he said.
But former Australian international Brad Hodge Thursday apologised over suggestions Kohli pulled out of the Test match to save himself for the IPL.
Hodge came under fire on the subcontinent for his conjecture about Kohli’s injury-enforced withdrawal.
“You’d hope as a sportsman that he’s seriously injured,” he told Fox Sports on Sunday.
“Because if you miss one game of Test match cricket and you’re fronting up the next week for RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) versus whoever ... you’d be pretty dirty if he didn’t front up to a Test match and try and win a valuable series against Australia.”
Hodge is due to coach the Gujarat Lions in the IPL, starting April 5, and has been rattled by the backlash, issuing a long apology.
“I take this opportunity to apologise to the people of India, cricket fans, the Indian national cricket team and particularly Virat Kohli for my previous comments,” he posted to Twitter.
“My intention was never to harm, criticise or be derogatory toward anyone. They were intended to be light-hearted comments with the utmost respect to the Indian Premier League which I have thoroughly enjoyed through the years.
“The public and fans have every right to be upset, and the backlash I have received has certainly driven this home.”
He said that he respected Kohli and meant no “ill intention”.
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell was also at the centre of controversy over Kohli’s injury when he grabbed his shoulder in parody and grinned at his teammates after making a similar stop later in the third Test.
