Australia vs India 2018: Kerry O'Keefe Apologises After Insulting Mayank Agarwal On Air

Updated - 27 Dec 2018, 02:18 PM

Mayank Agarwal, Kerry O'Keefe
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Former Australian cricketer Kerry O’Keefe caused a storm with his comments on debutant Mayank Agarwal on the first day of the third Test at MCG. The right-hander was in exceptional form in the last season of the Ranji Trophy. He had scored 1160 runs from 13 innings of the premier first-class competition in India. One of the best of the season was Agarwal’s unbeaten knock of 304 against Maharashtra. It was his first triple century which came off 494 balls that included 28 boundaries and four sixes.

O’Keefe had played 24 Tests and two ODIs for Australia between 1971 and 1977. He contempt Mayank Agarwal’s triple century in India’s premier domestic tournament Ranji Trophy. The former cricketer turned commentator reportedly said that the 27-year-old got his triple hundred against railway canteen staff. He also added the bowlers from the said team was chefs and waiters.

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Moreover, Kerry O’Keefe has built a reputation of being a fiery and entertaining commentator. However, he made the comments on air while sharing the commentary box with former Australia cricketers, Shane Warne, and Mark Waugh. Soon after his comments caused a stir, he apologized for the on-air comment and also said that he didn’t demean India’s first-class competition’s standard.

“I was mentioning the runs Agarwal got in first-class cricket in India, and there’s been a reaction. There was no way I was demeaning the standard, and it was tongue in cheek. There are lots of runs scored so apologies if anyone out there took offence,” O’Keefe said on air.

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However, Mayank Agarwal earned a well-deserved Test debut after regular opener KL Rahul and Murali Vijay were dropped from the Melbourne Test. He had played a fantastic knock in the first innings. The right-hander had scored 76 runs with the help of eight boundaries and one six.

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