Mohammed Shami has voiced his strong disapproval of Mitchell Marsh putting his feet on the World Cup 2023 trophy in celebration.
An image of Mitchell Marsh posing with silverware at his feet went viral on social media after Australia’s victory in the World Cup final.
Marsh scored 441 runs in the competition at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 107.56, making him the team’s third-highest run scorer. However, his celebration was not well-received by some fans. Some of his commentators online accused Marsh of putting his foot on the trophy as being disrespectful to the game.
The major uproar created in India by Mitchell Marsh’s photo has its origins in Brahmanism where Brahmin emerged from Lord’s head and Shudra from his feet.
If you remove the Brahminical lens, touching something with your feet is not “unclean” or disrespectful. pic.twitter.com/elvFC2TjDu
– Siddharth (@DearthOfSid) 20. November 2023
Shami joined in and criticized Marsh’s pose. While answering questions from reporters, Shami expressed his disappointment with the photo.
“I’m hurt,” he told reporters on Friday, Nov. 24. “It’s a trophy that every team in the world is fighting for, a trophy that you want to hold above your head and keep close to you. Even stepping into that trophy didn’t make me happy.”
Shami was instrumental in India’s campaign, picking up 24 wickets in 7 matches at an impressive average of just 10.70. After warming the bench in his first four matches, Hardik Pandya was able to return to the team due to an ankle injury. After appearing in the tournament he took five wickets his third time and in the semi-final against New Zealand he achieved 7 wins and 57 losses, the highest ever by an Indian bowler in men’s ODIs.
Shami finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker and became the bowler with the most five-fors (four) in history.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
