Kohli cools down
Says his ‘no friends’ remark blown out of proportion
New Delhi, March 30: India captain Virat Kohli believes his post-match comments in Dharamshala regarding his friendship with Australian players has been “blown way out of proportion” and clarified they were directed only at a couple of individuals.
The hard-fought series witnessed plenty of acrimony, the most notable being Kohli’s criticism of counterpart Steve Smith for gesturing towards his dressing room for guidance on whether to review an lbw decision in the second Test at Bengaluru.
Immediately after India clinched the series 2-1 with Tuesday’s win, Kohli said he would not regard any Australian cricketer as a friend “ever again”, going against the goodwill he felt towards the tourists prior to the first Test.
“My answer at the postmatch conference has been blown way out of proportion,” the feisty 28year-old, who is also captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL franchise, said on his verified Twitter account on Thursday.
“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 & that doesn’t change,” Kohli wrote.
Australians Shane Watson, Travis Head and Billy Stanlake are part of RCB. Australia captain Smith will lead Pune in the popular tournament starting on Wednesday, while compatriot David Warner leads champions Hyderabad and Australian allrounder Glenn Maxwell will skipper Punjab side. — PTI