Dirk Nannes slams Indian team for lack of respect

Steve Smith has certainly made his mark on the ongoing third Test between India and Australia in Ranchi. Smith sent the Indian bowlers on a wild hunt as he struck an unbeaten 178 in Australia's innings of the third Test. And even though Smith played the best innings of the series so far, he failed to find appreciation among any of the Indian players.

It has been noticed that none of the Indian players applauded Smith on getting his century, which has been seen as a mark of protest against DRS-gate during the second Test in Bangalore.

And now, Nannes has suggested that the Indian players might still be holding a grudge against Kohli by their failure to applaud his achievement.

Speaking to the ABC Grandstand Nannes was quoted as saying, “The disappointing aspect for me today was none of the Indians actually clapped when he got to his hundred. You can bicker and argue all you want and play the game hard with lots of niggle but when someone stands up and puts together an innings like that that’s absolutely chanceless, that’s a time you’ve just got to applaud. That was probably the disappointing thing from my point of view.”

Nannes believes that the Indian players maybe standing up for their skipper, by not appreciating Smith. And though he understands their point of view, he still believes that the Indian players could have applauded Smith’s achievement. “Not one of the Indian players clapped Steve Smith when he made a hundred. You can’t do that. No matter what’s happened before, you’ve got to acknowledge when someone does a good thing. If I was the captain, I’d be ropeable,” he added.

Australian commentator Jim Maxwell also commented on the issue saying that it was ‘unfortunate’ that the Indians didn’t applaud Smith and sees their actions as a sign of ‘disrespect’.

Meanwhile, while Smith did not comment on current the issue, but did express his regret over the happenings of the last Test. “You cannot control the past. I came out and said I made a mistake and moved on from there. And 4/300, we will take that, but tomorrow is going to be a crucial day for us,” Smith said after the day’s play on Thursday.

Australia ended up posting 451 in their first innings of the ongoing Test, during which Maxwell reached his maiden Test century and became only the third Australian to score a century in all three formats of the game. Smith’s century was the 19th of his Test career, where he also crossed the 5000 runs milestone in Test cricket.