Australia’s versatile player, Mitchell Marsh, became embroiled in controversy when a viral image captured him placing his feet on the World Cup trophy during the team’s post-match celebrations. Despite Australia securing their sixth World Cup title by defeating hosts India at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium last month, Marsh faced severe criticism and suggestions that his actions disrespected both the trophy and the game.
After 12 days since the victory, Marsh has broken his silence on the matter, emphasizing that he meant no disrespect with his celebratory gesture. The 32-year-old downplayed the incident, stating, “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 is nothing in that,” as he shared with SEN.
Despite the controversy, Marsh’s impressive performance in the tournament, accumulating 441 runs, took a backseat to Travis Head’s match-winning century in the final. Meanwhile, India’s Virat Kohli, awarded the ‘Player of the Tournament,’ set a new record with 765 runs in a single World Cup.
In the final, Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, played a pivotal role by dismissing Kohli for 54, leaving India at 148-4 and the massive crowd at Narendra Modi Stadium in stunned silence. Reflecting on the moment, Cummins expressed satisfaction, saying, “I think so. We did take a second in the huddle just to acknowledge the silence that was going around the crowd. It just felt like it was one of those days where it was all made for him (Kohli) to score another hundred like he normally does — so that was satisfying.”
