Mitchell Marsh defends controversial act of resting feet on World Cup trophy

PERTH: Australia’s fast-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh insisted on Friday that him resting his feet over the ODI World Cup trophy was not disrespectful and added that he won’t mind doing that again.

Shortly after Australia defeated hosts India by six wickets in the title clash to claim an unprecedented sixth Men’s ODI World Cup title in Ahmedabad, a picture of Marsh with his feet on the trophy were shared by captains Pat Cummins on his Instagram account, which created a huge furore on social media.

“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,” said Marsh on SEN Radio.

Marsh came under criticism from Indian fans, especially with fast-bowler Mohammed Shami later saying he was “hurt” by his gesture in the photo. Asked if he would do it again, Marsh said, “Yeah probably, to be honest.”

Four days after 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup was played, Australia and India squared off in a five-match T20I series, with its fourth game to be held in Raipur on Friday. Marsh stated that things like scheduling a bilateral tournament shortly after a global event is played should be avoided in the future.

“Yeah it was pretty outrageous for the guys that had to stay behind. 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 have since flown home after taking part in first three T20I games, with Australia trailing 2-1 in the series and Travis Head the only member from World Cup winning team in India now. “I celebrated for the six guys who stayed behind, I celebrated for them,” signed off Marsh. IANS

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