'Will Do It Again': Mitchell Marsh Breaks Silence On Putting Feet On World Cup Trophy

Right after the World Cup final ended, a new cricket controversy was born as Australian cricketer Mitchell Marsh's photo of him keeping his feet on the trophy went viral. Fans, particularly in India, were shocked by the picture and felt bad too. In India, the World Cup trophy is seen with a completely different view. The fans felt that by keeping his feet on the trophy, Marsh direspected the silverware. 

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India pacer Mohammed Shami, who was also part of the India team that played the final against the Aussies, said that he felt sad after looking at the picture. 

Marsh had left India after the World Cup and has been giving many interviews to local newspapers and local radio channels. In one of the interviews, Marsh was asked about the photo. He said that there was no disrespect to the trophy in that act. Marsh added that if they win the World Cup again, he will do that again,

“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,” Marsh said.

Social media website X (formerly Twitter) was divided when the controversial photo went viral. While majority of the Indian fans bashed Marsh for his 'disrespectful' act, some defended him by saying that it could look ugly from the perspective of the Indian culture, but to Australians, keeping a feet on the trophy is an act of showing their dominance on world and not necessarily disrespecting the silverware.   

While Marsh flew back to India immediately after the World Cup, seven members from the squad were left behind as they played India in the T20Is very soon. He empathised with his World Cup teammates, saying that it is not easy to be on the run representing your country, playing non-stop cricket. 

"Yeah, it was quite tough for the guys left behind," he remarked. "We need to acknowledge that we're representing Australia and it's a significant series against India.

"However, there's a human aspect too. The team just clinched a World Cup, and they probably deserve some time to celebrate and reunite with their families. It's a tricky situation. Hopefully, there won't be many similar series scheduled right after major tournaments in the future."