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

Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has reacted to the criticism he faced from Indian fans saying there was no disrespect meant in that photo at all after an FIR was registered against him by Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh police as he was seen putting his feet on the ICC Men's World Cup 2023 Trophy in the skipper Pat Cummins' Instagram story.

Melbourne: Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who faced criticism from Indian fans for resting his feet on the World Cup Trophy, on Friday insisted that the gesture was not disrespectful and he won't mind repeating the controversial act. Soon after Australia defeated hosts India by six wickets in the final to claim their record-extending sixth ODI World Cup, skipper Pat Cummins shared a picture of Mitchell Marsh with his feet on the Trophy on his Instagram account, creating a huge furore on social media.

"There was no disrespect meant in that photo at all," Mitchell 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 sit 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 had said.

Australia beat India in the final held at the Narendra Modi stadium. The two sides are playing a five-match T20 series in India.

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 (in India). 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 opener Travis Head being the lone member of the World Cup-winning side to stay put for the remaining two games.