In full support of their beleaguered captain, the Australian cricket board sends out some strong statements.
Virat Kohli created a major storm when he accused Steve Smith and the Australian team of using unfair practises to make the most of the Decision Review System (DRS) in the second Test in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
During a Press Conference right after the match, Kohli explained how he had himself seen the Aussies cheat on two occasions (even though he refused to say the word out loud). "I have seen it twice while batting. I have seen their players looking upstairs (dressing room). I told the umpires, this had to stop. I don't want to mention the word but it falls in that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field," said Kohli.
It all started when Smith, on the behest of his batting partner Peter Handscomb, tried to sneak some advice from his team-mates sitting in the dressing room after he was given out LBW in Australia's second innings. Umpire Nigel Llong tried to stop Smith from doing that as it's against the rules of the game, which clearly state that signals from the dressing room must not be given during the usage of DRS.
Smith, though, suggested that what happened on the field was a simple 'brain fade' on his part. "I got hit on the pad and looked down to Petey (Handscomb) and he said look up there, so I turned around and it was a bit of a brain fade on my behalf. I shouldn't have done that. I was looking at our boys, so shouldn't have done that and it was a bit of a brain fade," said Smith.
Now, in a major development on Wednesday, Cricket Australia (CA) has come out in full support of their beleaguered captain with it's CEO James Sutherland describing Kohli's accusations as 'outrageous'.
“I find the allegations questioning the integrity of Steve Smith, the Australian Team and the dressing room, outrageous,” said Sutherland. “Steve is an outstanding cricketer and person, and role model to many aspiring cricketers and we have every faith that there was no ill-intent in his actions.
“We reject any commentary that suggests our integrity was brought into disrepute or that systemic unfair tactics are used, and stand by Steve and the Australian Cricketers who are proudly representing our country.”
Well, wonder what lies ahead in this bitter war between the two teams.
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 "Cricket, australia, steve smith, virat kohli, nigel llong, peter handscomb, Cricket Australia (CA), india, India v/s Australia,")
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