Mark Taylor and Dean Jones criticize Virat Kohli for friendship comments

Not only did Australia lose the final Test at Dharamsala, and with it the series, but it seems that they also lost respect from the Indians, and especially from the Indian captain Virat Kohli, who, after winning the series, made it clear that the Australians were not his friends anymore.

Kohli, in the post match conference, categorically stated that he no longer would want to remain friends with the Australians. However, those comments from the Indian skipper did not go down well with former cricketers like Dean Jones, David Lloyd and Mark Taylor.

“Cricketers play together a lot these days, both with and against each other, so you’ve got to be very careful about holding grudges and making stances like that,” Taylor wrote in his blog for Wide World of Sports.

He also added, “I always tried to catch up with the opposition after a match. There are series where you’re disappointed because things didn’t go your way, or you’re delighted because things did go your way, but you have to be bigger than that. You have to say, ‘Well, irrespective of my own performance and that of my team I’ve got to go and put my face in there and say thanks for the contest.’

Meanwhile, former Australian batsman Dean Jones and former England player David Lloyd also were critical of Kohli’s comments.

“Virat will learn that this great game is not just about winning and losing. It’s also about the friends you make while playing the game,” Jones wrote. while Lloyd tweeted saying, “This lad certainly has a lot to say …maybe should sit and LISTEN to S Tendulkar,” Lloyd tweeted.

In another news, Sourav Ganguly advised Virat Kohli to settle dust on the off-field matters that surrounded the series but also criticized the Australian media for going overboard in their criticism of the Indian captain.

Virat will be now looking forward to the IPL, where he will lead the Bangalore side.