Complaint letter calls for Aussie cricketer to receive "lifetime ban"

Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh has taken on the roll of public enemy number one in India following Australia’s World Cup victory.

Marsh has come under attack after an image of him resting his feet on top of the trophy was posted online last week.

The photo was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by well known cricket social media identity Mufaddal Vohra to his more than 750,000 followers with the caption “Mitchell Marsh with the World Cup”.

Posted about 12 hours after Australia’s victory, it has now been viewed over 4.1 million times with angry fans labelling Marsh’s pose “disrespectful”.

“Very Disrespectful,” one fan wrote. “ICC must take action against Marsh.”

“No respect for the trophy, that’s Australia for you,” was another stinging comment.

The Quint have now revealed a complaint was lodged against Marsh.

The complaint letter, sent to the Prime Minister and the Sports Ministry from a furious cricket fan, reportedly stated Marsh’s actions had offended Indian cricket fans.

The letter demanded the star be “handed a lifetime ban from cricket” in India.

“By putting his feet on something that Indians consider sacred [the trophy], Marsh has disrespected both religious and cultural sentiments of the nation,” the complaint letter stated according to The Quint.

But it wasn’t just fans who were left seeing red over the image with Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami also taking offence.

Shami voiced his disapproval when speaking with reporters on Friday after he finished the World Cup as the leading wicket-taker with 24.
“I am hurt,” he said.

“The trophy for which all the teams in the world fight, the trophy which you want to lift over your head, keeping a foot on that trophy did not make me happy.”

Marsh, who scored 441 runs at 49.00 during the World Cup, was asked about the now iconic photo after he touched down in Melbourne earlier this week.

“It’s got a bit of legs that photo, hasn’t it?” he joked.

“Pardon the pun.”

Marsh had no idea of the backlash the image had created and quickly sidestepped the issue as he turned his attention to Australia’s upcoming Test series against Pakistan.

“It’s been a crazy 48 hours, but it’s nice to be back on home soil,” Marsh said.

“Tools down for a while, get home, see the family, relax, and then try and get ready for a big summer.”

The first Test between Australia and Pakistan starts at Perth Stadium on Thursday, December 14.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission