‘There was no disrespect meant:’ Marsh defends his controversial act

Responding to criticism from Indian fans for resting his feet on the World Cup trophy, Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh on Friday (December 1) insisted that the gesture was not disrespectful and he wouldn't mind repeating the controversial act.

Soon after Australia defeated hosts India by six wickets in the final to claim their record sixth ODI World Cup, skipper Pat Cummins shared a picture of Marsh with his feet on the trophy on his Instagram account, creating a huge furor on social media.

“There was obviously no disrespect meant in that photo at all,” Marsh said on 'Sen Radio'. “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,” he added.

However, when asked if he would do it again, Marsh said. “Yeah probably, to be honest.”

The picture, which went viral on social media, didn't go down well with Indian fans. Even pacer Mohammed Shami claimed that he felt "hurt" by Marsh's action. “The trophy for which all the teams in the world fight, the trophy which you want to lift over your head, keeping a foot on that trophy did not make me happy,” Shami said.

Four days after Australia beat India in the final, the two sides squared off in a five-match T20 series.

Marsh hopes such a big series won't be scheduled so soon after ICC tournaments in the future as triumphant players deserve to celebrate for a while with their families at home. “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,” he added.

As many as seven members from Australia's ODI World Cup-winning team stayed back in India after the final on November 19 for the T20I series.

However, six of the seven players have flown back home with Travis Head being the lone member of the World Cup-winning side to stay put for the remaining two games.

(With agency inputs)