Unfriended only a ‘couple’ of Aussies: Kohli

New Delhi : Virat Kohli seems to have realised that, irrespective of the provocations during the bitterly-fought series, his unfriending the whole Australian team was a bit extreme. In two Twitter posts today, Kohli said that his comment about the Australian cricketers not being his friends anymore was “blown out of proportion”.
After winning the series in Dharamsala, Kohli had said that he wouldn’t be calling the Australians his friends “ever again”. But the Indian captain today tweeted his clarification: “My answer at the post-match conference has been blown way out of proportion. I didn’t categorically say the whole Australian team but only a couple of individuals. I continue to be on good terms with the few guys I know and who I’ve played with at RCB and that doesn’t change.”

Kohli believes that his comments in Dharamsala were “blown out of proportion”, but he would accept that they were reported accurately. If the comments were indeed played up a bit too much, it should not really surprise anyone — his ending his friendships with the Australian players was quite a drastic action.

Smith still a friend?
Who are the “couple of individuals” in the Australian team with whom Kohli wouldn’t like to be friends?  Australian captain Steve Smith isn’t sure if he is one of those “couple of individuals”. Asked if he could be one of them, Smith said: “That’s for Virat to answer. I don’t know if I am one of those couple of players Virat was hinting at. Can’t say much about it.”
Smith, captain of the IPL team Rising Pune Supergiant, was speaking at his team’s media conference here today, with less than a week to go before IPL-10 starts on April 5.Smith said the ill-tempered Test series was “done and dusted”. He said the bitterness of the series wouldn’t affect his relationship with the Indian players in the Pune team’s dressing room, such as Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin, among others.

‘Let’s leave it behind’
“India outplayed us and won 2-1. For me, I am moving on from that series and ready to take the reins of this IPL team,” he added. “I had made it pretty clear after the Dharamsala game (when he apologised) that the series is complete for me. I want to focus on the IPL. Let’s just leave it (series) behind.”

We’re behind Smith: Rahane
Rahane, who captained India in Dharamsala, said Smith will have the team’s full support. “Smith will get our (Indian players) support. We are playing in the same team,” Rahane said. “We know each other well and have played together before. The focus during the IPL will be on how we can work together to take the team forward.”
“I have always believed that one should live in the present. We have won the series, and there was some very good cricket on display,” he added. “Both sides played really well, so credit also goes to Smith and the Australian team for the way they played. But now our focus remains on the IPL.”
Did Rahane accept Smith’s invitation for a beer together after the match in Dharamsala? “We had our own celebrations planned in our dressing room and I was busy there cherishing the moments,” Rahane explained. “We had to enjoy our win and a long, successful season.”

Hodge apologises for Kohli comments
Melbourne: Former Australian batsman and Gujarat Lions coach Brad Hodge today apologised for his comments that India captain Virat Kohli pulled out of the series-deciding Dharamsala Test to save his IPL campaign. Hodge’s comments were criticised and it appears he feared that his own IPL stint as Gujarat Lions coach could be in jeopardy. Rattled by the backlash, he today issued an apology on his Twitter page. “I take this opportunity to apologise to the people of India, cricket fans, the Indian cricket team and particularly Virat Kohli for my previous comments,” Hodge wrote.  “My intention was never to harm, criticise or be derogatory toward anyone. They were intended to be light-hearted comments with the utmost respect to the Indian Premier League which I have thoroughly enjoyed through the years. The public and fans have every right to be upset, and the backlash I have received has certainly driven this home.