Sad that focus has shifted from game: Pujara on Trump comment

Photo: BCCI

Dharamsala: Cheteshwar Pujara lamented the Australian media's comparison of Virat Kohli with Donald Trump's attitude towards scribes, saying tasteless comments are dominating headlines instead of cricketing achievements.

Pujara's epic double ton in the third Test, Smith's battle of attrition in Pune and Ranchi, Lyon and Ashwin's magical spells in Bengaluru have all been put in the backburner thanks to the bad blood that has spilled over with equal contribution from all stakeholders.

"I think it's really sad to hear such comments. We fully support Virat and he is one of the great ambassadors of this game. I think the focus has shifted somewhere else, which shouldn't have happened. We are very much focussed on the game. He is a great leader and so we are fully supporting him. We are looking forward to the next game rather than worrying about anything else," said Pujara, who along with KL Rahul has been India's most consistent batsman in the series.

The current series has dominated air space as much off the field as it has been for the combative cricket that has been played on it.

It started with Kohli loosely accusing opposite number Steve Smith of cheating during 'DRS', which the Aussie skipper had termed 'brain fade'.

From being called 'leader of snakes' to 'the Donald Trump of cricket' by the visiting media, Kohli has been facing all kinds of allegations at a time when he has also not been amongst runs.

Not to be left behind was Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland, who took a sly dig at the Indian captain, stating that perhaps he doesn't know the spelling of sorry.

Once what Steve Waugh termed as 'mental disintegration', the touring Australian media has taken it to an altogether different level attacking Kohli, whose form has not been great of late.

The continuous attack on Kohli prompted former Australian skipper Michael Clarke to comment on record that "two or three journalists (from Australia) are trying to tarnish Virat's image which he should not be bothered about".