Mitchell Marsh defends controversial 'feet over World Cup trophy' act, says he will probably repeat gesture

Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh came under fire after a picture of him posing with his legs atop the World Cup trophy went viral on social media. He was slammed by Indian fans and even India's World Cup hero Mohammed Shami criticised him. Now nearly 10 days after Australia scripted history in India, Marsh has broken his silence on the controversial incident with a bold statement.

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The Aussie power-hitter claimed he meant no disrespect to the coveted trophy, but added he would probably repeat the gesture. “Yeah probably, to be honest,” Marsh said when asked if he would do it again. 

“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,” he added.

The image of Marsh with his feet on the trophy after Australia won their sixth ODI World Cup irked many in the Indian cricket fraternity. The Kangaroos defeated Rohit Sharma and Co. by six wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. Mash managed to score only 15 runs, but his aggressive intent proved crucial in putting pressure on the Indian line-up. However, it was Travis Head's blazing century that dashed the celebrations of billions of Indians.

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Boys have just won a World Cup and deserve to celebrate for a while: Marsh 

Marsh also opined that the ongoing five-match T20I series between India and Australia has hindered the World Cup celebrations. While Marsh has returned to Australia after the premier 50-over tournament, some of his teammates are still in India for the 20-over series.

“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," the 32-year-old said.

“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.”

“I celebrated for the six guys who stayed behind, I celebrated for them,” he added. Steve Smith, Adam Zampa, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott and Travis Head are part of the T20I squad.