Australian cricket captain Mitchell Marsh has denied knowledge of a controversial promotional video that appeared to mock the Indian team’s ‘no-handshake’ policy during the Asia Cup, opting instead to focus on the highly anticipated ODI series against India starting Sunday in Perth.
The now-deleted promotional clip, posted by broadcaster Kayo Sports, featured Marsh and several other Australian players suggesting alternative greetings to the traditional handshake, referencing the recent Asia Cup controversy where the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian side refused to exchange handshakes with the Pakistan team.
Ahead of the first One-Day International, when asked about the video that drew significant criticism on social media, Marsh maintained a guarded stance.
“I actually haven’t seen the ad, I don’t know if it’s blowing up. I don’t have much to comment on it,” Marsh stated at the pre-match press conference.
The promotional video was understood to be light-hearted in its intent, making fun of India’s stance which was attributed to the recent no-handshake policy with Pakistan, following which the Indian team even refused to receive the Asia Cup trophy from PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi.
Shifting the focus to the contest on the field, Marsh highlighted the magnitude of the upcoming three-match series, which has already seen a massive response from fans, with over 1,75,000 tickets sold across the venues.
The series is particularly notable for the return of Indian stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, to Australian shores. Marsh paid tribute to the two legends while jokingly hoping they don’t produce too many standout performances.
“Had the privilege of playing against them quite a lot over the journey. They are obviously legends of the game,” Marsh said. “Virat, especially in this white-ball format, is the greatest chaser ever. I think you can see why the ticket sales are so high and why a lot of people are coming to watch them. And if it is their last time on Australian soil, I hope they enjoy it and I hope people can witness — not too much great cricket from them — but witness two of the greats playing in Australia.”