After a spiteful Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, it appears Indian captain Virat Kohli's opinion of the Australian Test team has significantly diminished.
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Before the first Test in Pune, Kohli was happy to leave what happened on the field right there.
"I'm really good friends with all these guys off the field," Kohli told a pre-Test press conference.
"I know them really well, but I know where to draw the line of friendship. When you step onto the field, I could be playing against my big brother it wouldn't matter."
Ah, they were innocent, naïve times.
Now, four Tests, a brain fade or two, opportunistic stump mics and an optical illusion saga later, Kohli isn’t keen on keeping the international cricketing brotherhood together.
"No, it has changed," Kohli told a post-match media conference in Dharamsala.
"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've been proven wrong.
"The thing I said before the first Test, that has certainly changed and you won't hear me say that ever again."
Well then 😳#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/xciqRDoma8
— cricket.com.au Video (@CricketVideo) March 28, 2017
While Steve Smith did approach stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane for a few conciliatory tins after the Indians had secured a 2-1 series win, it appears the gesture was too little, too late.
Both captains have had their low points for the series. For Kohli, India’s worst-performing batter during the series, his defensiveness of criticism bordered on the laughable
"I've heard a very wise person tell me that when a person is down, the weak come out and speak about him," Kohli said during the post-match press conference.
"It takes courage to speak about someone when they are on top.”
Righto.
For Smith, the brain fade and Monday’s mini-drama over a contested catch almost overshadowed a momentous tour of the subcontintent.
"I have been very intense and in my own little bubble and at times I have let my actions falter a little bit throughout this series and I apologise for that,” Smith said in the post-match press conference.
