New Delhi: Australia coach Darren Lehmann on Wednesday said he is disappointed with India captain Virat Kohli for declaring that he is no longer friends with Australian players after an aggressively-contested Test series.
Australia lost 1-2 in the the four-match rubber, which was marred by constant showdowns between the players of both the sides.
At the end of it, Kohli had no qualms saying that he has been proven wrong in considering Australian players his off-field friends.
Asked about Kohli’s comment in a pre-departure media interaction, Lehmann said, “Disappointing but that’s his opinion isn’t it?”
On whether he thought that the rest of the Indian team had sentiments similar to Kohli, Lehmann replied in the negative.
“No, I don’t think the Indian team (feels that), I too was very impressed with (Ajinkya) Rahane’s captaincy. I thought he was brilliant,” Lehmann said, trying to side-step the query by referring to Rahane’s stand-in captaincy during the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala.
However, Lehmann was candid in admitting that the Australian team’s performance did not quite match up to India. He was nonetheless proud of the effort put in by the visitors.
“We were disappointing in a couple of Test matches. We got so close but yet so far I suppose. We were a 100 runs short in this game. But I am proud of the lads and the effort they put in,” he said.
Mark Taylor, Dean
Jones criticise Virat
Meanwhile, denouncing Virat Kohli’s comments that the spiteful Test series has ended his friendship with the Australians, legendary batsman Mark Taylor says the India captain should not hold any grudges since it’s just a game in the end.
“Cricketers play together a lot these days, both with and against each other, so you’ve got to be very careful about holding grudges and making stances like that,” Taylor wrote in his blog for Wide World of Sports.
“I always tried to catch up with the opposition after a match. There are series where you’re disappointed because things didn’t go your way, or you’re delighted because things did go your way, but you have to be bigger than that.
Former Australia batsman Dean Jones and ex-England player David Lloyd also questioned the wisdom of Kohli’s comments. (PTI)
