Mitchell Marsh defends controversial World Cup photo with his feet on trophy, says would probably do it again

Mitchell Marsh has addressed the intense backlash he received for a controversial photo with the World Cup 2023 trophy placed under his feet. The all-rounder clarified that his pose was not intended to disrespect anyone. Following Australia's six-wicket victory against Rohit Sharma's India on November 19 in the final at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, pictures of Marsh celebrating with the trophy beneath his feet circulated widely.

Despite scoring 15 runs at a run-a-ball before being dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah, Travis Head's outstanding 137-run innings secured Australia's triumph with seven overs to spare. Even Mohammed Shami, who concluded the World Cup as the highest wicket-taker with an impressive tally of 24 wickets in 7 games, expressed feeling "hurt" by Marsh's gesture during the celebratory moments.

In response to the criticism, Marsh mentioned, "There was obviously no disrespect meant in that photo at all. I haven’t given it too much thought, I haven’t seen a lot on social media even though everyone tells me it’s gone off. There’s nothing in that," as quoted by SEN.