The bad blood between Australia and India continued on Saturday (more than on the pitch, really).
All-rounder Glenn Maxwell holding his shoulder with a smile on his face after going down on the field to save a boundary, sparked a debate, with many pointing out that he was mocking Virat Kohli’s injury.
Pic 1 ~ Virat Kohli…
Pic 2 ~ Virat Ki Li !!#IndvAus pic.twitter.com/0jNWfmjqEK— Babu Bhaiya (@Shahrcasm) March 18, 2017
On the opening day, Kohli was left clutching his right shoulder in pain after he dived while fielding at the mid-on area and later scans revealed that he had suffered a strain and missed fielding action for 400 minutes.
Maxwell, who had struck a brilliant hundred on Friday, imitated the Indian skipper’s action by clutching his right shoulder after his dive to save a boundary in the 81st over.
Pujara had played a fine flick through the mid-on off Pat Cummins and Maxwell gave a chase at the deep, exactly in the same region where Kohli made that awkward dive to injure his right shoulder.
Incidentally, that fielding effort to save the boundary brought Kohli on strike and he promptly edged to Steve Smith at second slip off the very next ball.
Some came down heavily on Maxwell’s behaviour…
Pic 1: Virat Kohli On Day 1 Pic 2: Maxwell Mimicking #Kohli On Day 3 Making Fun Of Someone’s Injury Is Not Cool. #IndvAus#AussiekiTaisie pic.twitter.com/BAbDKj8I2T
— Sachin Deshwal🇮🇳 (@ISachinDeshwal) March 18, 2017
Aussies are mocking Kohli’s injury. And then they’re showing Australia Tourism ads. Certainly not something that breeds confidence.
— Aladdin (@Alllahdin) March 18, 2017
So Glenn Maxwell mocked Virat Kohli injury I think he forgot what happened to Henry Olonga when he over celebrated Sachin Tendulkar wicket..
— Sarcastic Dude (@Sarcasticdudee) March 18, 2017
Aussies should have done that when Kohli came out for bat,that might have made him aggressive to score ****ING double ton #IndvAus pic.twitter.com/3xS0UGt0ki
— Virat Kohli FC (@ViratKohIiFC) March 18, 2017
Dear Maxwell making fun of Someone’s injury is not at all funny😎
You hav to pay for this.Mark my words_l_Virat Kohli#IndvAus #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/rA3dkfqnvs— Sir Rohit Sharma (@SirRohitSharma_) March 18, 2017
Dear Ian Healy and all those criticising Virat Kohli for “not respecting” the opposition, what do you have to say about this? #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/viwGUlt1N1
— Madhav Sharma (@HashTagCricket) March 18, 2017
Poor behavior by Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith mocking Virat Kohli’s shoulder injury. Very poor. Disappointing. #IndvsAus
— akarshsharma.com (@Akarsh_Official) March 18, 2017
For the record: We could not really find any evidence to support Smith mocked Kohli as well after taking the catch, like this one user on Twitter pointed out.
All about Camera Angle. pic.twitter.com/68f1l0wBRo
— Manish (@Slysterr) March 18, 2017
But there were a few who said it was not much different from Kohli mockingly applauding Australia from the dressing room when they ran out of DRS reviews earlier in the day.
Kohli is no saint. He likes to rub it into the opposition. If he likes to give it, then he should be able to take it too. #indvaus
— Ánkit Damania (@punterankit) March 18, 2017
When Kohli mocks Australians: Thug life 😎
When Aussies mock Kohli: Unsportsmanlike 😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😂😂😂#INDvAUS— Sakun Sankalana (@Sakun_SD) March 18, 2017
Push ups
SaluteThe WormBat drop?No, let’s do the Shoulder Injury pic.twitter.com/pMbMvdHZIM— Dennis Kohli (@DennisCricket_) March 18, 2017
Wishing Kohli a speedy recovery from his injured credibility #INDvAUS #IndvAus #Kohli
— Ares Mars (@AresMarsFlack) March 18, 2017
So Kohli was aggressive and Maxwell was rude according to Indian fan theory. #IndvAus pic.twitter.com/aJ2H6kpxNd
— SocialChidiya (@raita_wala) March 18, 2017
We just have this to say for those outraging: If we enjoy Kohli giving it back to the Australians, we should also be alright with taking some of it ourselves.
Featured image: Twitter / BCCI