Taking a potshot at the ICC, explosive Australian batsman David Warner has termed the world body's crackdown on the on-field player behaviour "a bit of a joke" even as he backed Indian Test captain Virat Kohli's aggressive attitude.
Warner, who has recently being crowned Allan Border Medallist as Australia's player of the year, said that the ICC's crackdown has diminished the entertainment value of the game.
Before last year's World Cup, the ICC had made it clear that it would be adopting a firmer stance on player behaviour, particularly exchanges between opponents as well as over-zealous wicket celebrations.
"It's been tough with the crackdown of the ICC at the moment. I'm not going to have a pot shot at them but it's becoming a bit of a joke. The players can't celebrate as much," Warner said.
"We know sometimes things might get a little bit out of hand, but that's what we love about the game; we love the contest and it (the crackdown) is really taking away from the bat-and-ball contest," he told cricket.Com.Au.
Giving a thumbs up on firebrand Kohli's aggressive demeanour, Warner said the star Indian batsman and himself have become targets for special attention due to their reputations.
Kohli has had a series of exchanges with several Aussie players throughout the limited-overs series this month.
"I think it's fantastic," 29-year-old Warner said of the light-hearted confrontations between Kohli and James Faulkner during the ODI series.
"Virat's a very passionate guy, he leads by example for his country. He sets the tone, and that's what I try to do for Australia as well when I'm on the field ... We're always in the camera's vision, it always gets us and we have to cop that on the chin and move on," he said.
