31 March,2017 08:55 AM IST | | PTI
Steven Smith yesterday said he was not sure if he was one of the couple of individuals from the Australian team who Virat Kohli did not want to be friends with, his expression belying the unease in the aftermath of an acrimonious Test series
Steven Smith
New Delhi:âu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Steven Smith yesterday said he was not sure if he was one of the "couple of individuals" from the Australian team who Virat Kohli did not want to be friends with, his expression belying the unease in the aftermath of an acrimonious Test series. At the end of one of the most bitterly-fought but intense Test series in recent times, Kohli had stated that he would no longer be friends with Australian cricketers, only to insist two days later that his comment was blown out of proportion.
When told about Kohli's clarification, Smith, who will be leading Rising Pune Supergiant in the 10th edition of the IPL starting April 5, said, "That is for Virat to answer. I don't know if I am one of those couple of players Virat was hinting at in his tweet yesterday."
"For me the series is done and dusted and India have outplayed us. I am now ready to lead a new bunch of team at the Pune Supergiant."
Supergiant's new skipper Smith was in New Delhi alongside Ajinkya Rahane and the IPL team's new signing Ben Stokes.
Meanwhile, India's stand-in skipper for the Dharamsala Test, Rahane said he could not accept Smith's invitation for a beer after the series as he was busy celebrating with his own teammates in the Indian dressing room. "We had our own celebrations together in our dressing rooms and I was busy there."
