Furious Indian activist wants Aussie World Cup hero Mitch Marsh BANNED from playing cricket in the country for stepping his feet on the prized trophy
Australia’s World Cup hero Mitch Marsh could be banned for life from returning to India or even arrested if he re-enters the country after an activist filed an official complaint for putting his feet on the trophy.
The image of Marsh smiling, with a beer in hand and his feet up on the Cricket World Cup trophy, went viral this week, with thousands of Indian cricket supporters furious that he disrespected the award.
Australia stunned the tournament favorites with a six-wicket victory in front of 130,000 fans in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Many Indian cricket fans did not take the loss well after their side went through the tournament undefeated before losing in the final.
They were further infuriated to see Marsh acting so casually with the prized trophy.
Now that an angry fan has gone to the next level and filed an official document with the police, the Prime Minister and the Sports Ministry called for Marsh to be banned from playing in India for life.
This seemingly innocent image of Mitch Marsh relaxing with the Cricket World Cup trophy has led to an activist filing an official complaint calling for him to be banned from India.
Australia shocked India in the World Cup final, leaving many fans emotional after expecting to win the tournament for the second time in history
Right to information [RTI] activist Pandit Keshav has filed a first information report [FIR] to Marsh after seeing the image.
RTI activists aim to “promote transparency and accountability in the functioning of every public authority.”
The FIR, prepared by Keshav, means Indian police may be able to arrest Marsh without needing a warrant from a magistrates court for an investigation or questioning if they believe a criminal offense has taken place.
The English and Hindi-language Indian news channel The Quint obtained a copy of this complaint.
‘By putting his feet on something that Indians consider sacred [the trophy]Marsh has disrespected both the religious and cultural sentiments of the nation,” the complaint letter said The Quint.
Australian cricket fans were furious when they heard of the complaint and called on disgruntled Indian cricket fans to accept their defeat.
“Who cares what India thinks is our trophy and not yours,” one said angrily.
Another snapped back: “Indian fans can’t handle a loss.”
‘Can India become even more sour about losing the World Cup? They’re really starting to embarrass themselves now,” another added.
“Sour grapes, build a damn big bridge and get over it losers,” another Australian supporter posted.
There are millions of cricket fans in India and 130,000 people came to watch the World Cup final
Many Indian cricket fans have refused to accept Australia’s win after they were the dominant team throughout the tournament before falling at the final hurdle
Fans pointed out that this was the sixth trophy won by the Aussies, while India have only won one World Cup, with one fan posting: ‘For India it’s the ultimate iconic prize, for the Aussies it’s just another cup and one they have won many times. for.’
“Wait until they hear what AB and the boys did with the 87 trophy,” one fan wrote, referring to the moment Allan Border became the first Australian captain to lift the trophy.
Even many Indian cricket fans agreed that the complaint went too far.
‘It’s their trophy. They can do whatever they want with it. If we wanted it that bad we should have won it,” one person wrote.
“Come on, my fellow Indians. Common sense and critical thinking please,” urged another.
“Why do we have clowns who make it their mission to ruin the image of the nation?” asked another.
Indian pace bowling spearhead Mohammed Shami said the image of Marsh ‘hurt’
Marsh will celebrate the World Cup with his coach and teammates on Sunday
The complaint comes after Indian pace bowling spearhead Mohammed Shami joined the chorus of disapproval over Marsh’s actions.
“I’m hurt,” he told reporters on Friday.
“The trophy that all the teams in the world are fighting for, the trophy that you want to lift above your head, keep your foot on that trophy, that didn’t make me happy.”
Shami was the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup, picking up 24 wickets at an average of 10.70, including three five-wicket hauls.
Marsh scored 441 points with an average of 49.
“He’s got some legs in that photo, hasn’t he?” he joked.
“Sorry for the joke.”
After the victory, Marsh expressed enormous respect for the tournament and the trophy.
‘Pure elation. I said to a few guys earlier, it’s been the toughest eight weeks of cricket I’ve ever been a part of,” he said.
‘We were 0-2 (after two games) and Sri Lanka were not 0-120 (in Australia’s third match), so that feels like a lifetime ago. To be here with this group (as champions) is incredible.”