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Meanwhile, the Australian camp was miffed over BCCI putting up a video on its website that clearly showed Australian players sledging Jadeja in the middle, and the latter complaining to the on-field umpires. "Yeah, I was a little bit disappointed that the BCCI sifted through the archive to find a conversation between Matty and Jadeja. It has happened between both sides," said skipper Smith
The recently concluded four-match Test series between India and Australia was intense, both on and off the field. The battle between the number one and two ranked Test teams was never going to be a calm affair. True to its billing, the series brought out the best and worst in players from both sides. The off-field battles between the two teams were relentless. Both the cricket boards and media wings got involved in the off-field mind games and tit-for-tat exchanges. At one point, even the media managers of both teams were locked a face-off. In the hostile atmosphere, player relationships became the collateral damage.
In the penultimate day of the series, Australian skipper Steven Smith was caught on camera showering abuse at team India's Murali Vijay for claiming a catch of Australia's last man Josh Hazlewood. The Indian media criticised the reaction. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) retaliated by putting up a footage of Australian player Matthew Wade sledging Ravindra Jadeja in the morning session, as the latter fended of a sustained spell of hostile bowling from Aussie paceman Pat Cummins.
The teams stood in line and shook hands after the series ended. India won the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2-1, but the bitterness continued unabated. Smith publicly apologised for getting carried away. “I have sort of been very intense in my own little bubble and at times I have let my emotions and actions falter a little bit throughout this series. I apologise for that,” said the Australian skipper while speaking to the media after the match.
However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli was in no mood to forget the nasty off-field games played by the Australian team management. Asked whether he would still remain friends with several Aussie team members as he had said before the start of the series, Kohli bluntly responded in negative. "I thought that was the case, but it has changed for sure. As I said, in the heat of the battle you want to be competitive, but I have been proven wrong. The thing I said before the first Test, that has certainly changed. You won’t hear me say that ever again.”
The Indian skipper was, however, appreciative of the tough fight that Australia gave to the Indians in their own backyards. “I think they believed in making things happen in these conditions. That is something I sensed in their body language and the way they played their cricket. They believed they could win sessions and situations. That was very important, and the most challenging thing for us,” said Kohli.
Meanwhile the Australian camp was miffed over BCCI putting out a video on its website that clearly showed Australian players sledging Jadeja in the middle, and the latter complaining to the on-field umpires. "Yeah, I was a little bit disappointed that the BCCI sifted through the archive to find a conversation between Matty and Jadeja. It has happened between both sides throughout the series. So the fact they have done that to us is a little bit disappointing. What is said on the field should stay on the field. It has been a hard-fought series and guys are going to say things here and there. Their emotions are going to be high. And so they should be in such a big series,” said Smith on a parting note.
The BCCI, however, maintained that they did not cull any specific footage.
