“I was a little bit disappointed by those comments”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Australia captain Steve Smith has admitted that he is still “disappointed” by the comments his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli made after the second Test in Bangalore.
Kohli accused Smith of “crossing the line” after he looked to the dressing room after being given out lbw off the bowling of India seamer Umesh Yadav for 28 runs in the second innings of the match.
After catching Smith casting his eye towards the dressing room, where television replays can be seen, Kohli got into a heated dispute with the Australian skipper.
While Smith admitted that his actions were the result of a “brain fade”, he insisted there was no truth in Kohli’s remarks about Australia looking to the dressing room on multiple occasions.
“I was a little bit disappointed by those comments,” Smith told ABC Grandstand. “I’ve let that go now, it’s happened it’s the past and I can’t control that. I have to move forward.”
Even though Smith was less than impressed with Kohli’s comments after the second Test, the Indian captain had no regrets about what he said.
“I don’t. I think about what I say. I don’t regret anything that I have said,” he added. “But at the same time, it is very important not to be stupid and go on about the same thing on a daily basis because there is cricket to be played.
“There was a decent break in between and we certainly don’t want to sit and think about one issue all the time. We have cricket to play, we have two Test matches to play and that’s what we need to focus on.
“I think it was a mature decision on everyone’s part to move on from that. We have seen instances in the past [that have] stretched too long and it just causes disharmony and there is no outcome of it, honestly. I wouldn’t say that we are trying to push anything any further but we just need to focus on the two games that are left.
“I think it is good for everybody that everyone moves on because you will always have two sides of the coin. One side will say one thing, the other side will say another and that just takes the focus away from the game, that we all are sitting here because of. I think it’s in the best interests of everyone that we move on and focus on the game.”
Smith and Kohli will meet with match referee Richie Richardson ahead of the third Test on Thursday, but Smith doesn’t think this will stop the on-field hostilities in Ranchi.
“I think the last Test match was quite fiery and [there] was plenty going on so you expect that with Australia and India, it’s always a fiercely contested rivalry,”he said. “They are going to have a few things to say and from my point of view this Test match is about playing on our skill and not letting emotion get in the way of anything.”