One of the photos posted by Pat Cummins shows Mitchell Marsh sitting on a sofa holding a pint in his hand with his feet resting on the World Cup trophy that is placed on the floor. Mitchell Marsh, who came under severe criticism from Indian fans for resting his feet on the World Cup trophy, has insisted that he meant no disrespect, but added that he would probably repeat the gesture.
A day after Australia won the Word Cup, beating India in the final, Marsh was pictured with his feet on the trophy which irked many Indian fans. But while speaking to SEN Radio network in Australia, Marsh opened up on the incident for the first time.
“Yeah probably, to be honest,” Marsh said when asked if he would do it again. “There was obviously no disrespect meant in that photo at all. I haven’t given it too much thought, I haven’t seen a lot on social media even though everyone tells me it’s gone off. There’s nothing in that,” Marsh said.
Apart from several fans who raised objection, even India pacer Mohammed Shami claimed he was hurt. A fan even wrote to the PMO and the Union Sports Ministry demanding a ban on Marsh to play cricket in India.
While Marsh has headed back to Australia, some of his counterparts are still in India featuring in the five-match T20Is. The all-rounder said the series has derailed their celebrations.
“Yeah it was pretty outrageous for the guys that had to stay behind,” he said. “It’s a fine line because we’ve got to respect the fact we’re playing for Australia and it’s a series against India which is always really big.
“But there’s also the human side of it, the boys have just won a World Cup and probably deserve to celebrate for a while and get home to their families. It’s an interesting one. You’d hope there’s not too many of those series put on after big tournaments again.”
Steve Smith, Adam Zampa, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis and Sean Abbott had to stay back in India and be part of the squad for the first three matches before they flew home. “I celebrated for the six guys who stayed behind, I celebrated for them,” Marsh said.
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