Friends again: Virat Kohli backtracks from 'Australians not friends anymore' comments

Virat Kohli said his equation with most of the Australian players haven't changed, and he was only pointing at a couple of them that got under his skin

Steve Smith, Australia, Virat Kohli, India, Test Series 2017 — Steve Smith and Virat Kohli shake hands after the match in Dharamsala, March 28, 2017Reuters

India captain Virat Kohli has backtracked a little from his post-match comments about his equation with the Australia players changing following a hard-fought Test series.

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Right after India had won the series 2-1, thanks to an impressive win in Dharamsala, Kohli, talking to reporters in the post-match press conference, said his friendship with the Australian players had taken a hit.

"No, it has changed," Kohli said on Tuesday. "I thought that was the case, but it has changed for sure. As I said, in the heat of the battle you want to be competitive but I've been proven wrong.

"The thing I said before the first Test, that has certainly changed and you won't hear me say that ever again."

Kohli, at the start of the series, had said, he is quite good friends with all of the Australian players.

"I'm really good friends with all these guys off the field," Kohli had said before the first Test in Pune. "I know them really well, but I know where to draw the line of friendship.

"When you step onto the field, I could be playing against my big brother it wouldn't matter."

However, after taking a couple of days to calm down, Kohli tweeted out a statement, insisting his comments had been "blown out of proportion."

"My answer at the post match conference has been blown way out of proportion," Kohli tweeted. "I did not categorically say the whole Australian team but only a couple of individuals.

"I continue to be in good terms with the few guys I know & who I've played with at RCB & that doesn't change."

Now, who those "couple of individuals" are is anybody's guess, although there are a few obvious candidates.

Kohli, no doubt, will run into several of the Australia players during the IPL 2017 season, with the skipper looking to lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore to their first ever title.

The 28-year-old is currently recuperating from a shoulder injury that kept him out of the fourth and deciding Test against Australia and Kohli is expected to miss the early part of the season for RCB.