xtratime Logo

[caption id="attachment_40161" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Virat Kohli shaking hands with Aussie skipper Steve Smith at Dharamsala on Tuesday. File Pic[/caption] Internet Desk: Indian captain Virat Kohli was heavily criticised in the Australian media following his comments at the end of a hard-fought test series between India and Australia. The Australian media event went on labeling the Indian captain “classless” and childish. The Indian captain on being asked whether he will be friends with the Australian players after the series, Kohli said he would not think of the Australians as friends "ever again". Sydney’s Daily Telegraph labeled Kohli as an “egomaniac” in their report and carried the heading,"Virat Kohli had to shake hands and move on after series win but he acted like a child," "Beergate: Kohli's latest classless act", read another headline. Senior cricket journalist of The Australian, Peter Lalor wrote in his column: "If there were any doubts about the poor spirit between the Indian and Australian sides it was confirmed after the series when the home side shunned a suggestion the two sides drink together." While Kohli’s behaviour was criticised, Australian captain Steve Smith was praised for his gesture after the series. Smith aplogised for calling Murali Vijay a "f***ing cheat" after he claimed a catch when the ball had touched the ground. Herald Sun journalist Russell Gould wrote, "All Virat Kohli had to do was say sorry. Steve Smith did." The Indian captain was the target of the Australian media since the start of the series. Kohli initially stepped into the firing line when he accused Smith of systematically abusing the decision review system, after the Aussie captain admitted looking to his team dressing room when considering whether to appeal his dismissal in Bangalore. Smith struck a conciliatory tone at the end of the series, revealing that he reached out to India's stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane with the offer of a beer -- an invitation that was declined. "I asked if he wanted us to come in for a drink, this being the end of the series. He said he'd get back to me. With Ajinkya, we get on well," Smith said of his Indian Premier League (IPL) team-mate. It will be interesting to see how the players from both countries react with each other when they share the same dressing room for different franchises in Indian Premier League (IPL), which gets underway from April 05.