As the Australia media's nasty tirade against Virat Kohli continues, former cricket Ed Cowan has added fresh fuels to the embers by saying that he once felt like picking up a stump and stabbing the current India skipper after being told something "highly inappropriate"
The former Australian opener, who made his debut against India, became the latest cricketer from Down Under to come up with yet another controversial remark against Kohli as he recalls an on-field altercation with the Indian batting star.
"I had a very sick Mum during one of those series and he said something that was inappropriate," the Fox Sports quoted Cowan as saying.
"Why I make the point of 'lost in translation', he said something that was highly inappropriate. A personal matter that was highly sensitive. Highly inappropriate. But he didn't realise that he'd overstepped the mark until the umpire came over and said - 'Virat that's overstepped the mark' - and once that was said, he took a step back and apologised. But, there was a moment I wanted to pick up the stump and stab him," he added.
However, Cowan, who notched up 1001 runs in 18 Tests he played for Australia, insisted that Kohli is a phenomenal cricketer and that he is a big fan of him.
"I'm a huge fan of his cricket. Don't get me wrong he's a phenomenal cricketer. I had a little bit of a run-in that was inappropriate when he toured Australia and the umpire had to intervene. We forget that English isn't their first language. It's very easy to sit back and say as a player they're barking something at me that is inappropriate when we don't try and converse with them in Hindi," the 34-year-old said.
India registered a 2-1 win over Australia at home in one of the most intense but bitterly-fought series in recent years.
The entire series was marked by one controversy after the other, starting from the 'brain fade' issue in Bengaluru to Kohli's statement about not being friends with some of the Australian players.
The Australians players have been issuing verbal volleys against Kohli ever since he stopped short of calling Smith a 'cheat' and stated that his Australian counterpart had, more than once, sought help from the dressing room for DRS.
A major section of the Australian media has repeatedly been attacking Kohli after that incident, even calling him the "Donald Trump of the sporting world".
Kohli also invited fresh criticism for his 'no-longer friends with Australian players' remark in a post-match comments, with the Australian media describing the Indian skipper as 'classless', 'childish' and 'egomaniac'.
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