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Legends slam Kohli for parting shot

Mitchell Johnson leads criticism of India's skipper after post-match comments in Dharamsala

Former Test captain Mark Taylor and fast bowler Mitchell Johnson have led criticism of Indian skipper Virat Kohli following his post-series media conference in Dharamsala.

Speaking after India lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in four years, Kohli declared his friendships with the Australian players to be irretrievably broken after an ill-tempered and often spiteful four-match series.

Quick Single: Kohli says friendships over after heated series

Taylor was one of several former players to question Kohli's comments and said the dressing room was no place to hold a grudge.

"Cricketers play together a lot these days, both with and against each other, so you've got to be very careful about holding grudges and making stances like that," Taylor wrote in a blog for Wide World of Sports.

"I always tried to catch up with the opposition after a match. There are series where you're disappointed because things didn't go your way, or you're delighted because things did go your way, but you have to be bigger than that.

"You have to say, 'Well, irrespective of my own performance and that of my team I've got to go and put my face in there and say thanks for the contest.'

"At the end of the day it's become a fully professional game with quite a bit at stake, but it's still just a game and I think that's what people have go to remember."

Johnson, who has been outspoken since retiring from the game in November 2015, said the India skipper should have left the on-field battle out in the middle.

The left-arm quick, who himself had several on-field run-ins with Kohli during his playing career, then added: "I don't mind being aggressive at times but this is another level now".

Former Australia batsman Dean Jones and ex England player David Lloyd also queried the wisdom of Kohli's comments.

Having declared before the series began that any on-field animosity between the two teams would not impact his personal friendships, Kohli back-tracked on Tuesday.

"No, it has changed," Kohli said. "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."

Watch Kohli's explosive press conference in full

While Kohli's personal relationships with the Australian players have soured, the skipper heaped praise on the tourists, who exceeded all expectations in a series several pundits predicted would be a 4-0 whitewash to the hosts.

Having recorded a stunning victory in Pune and held on for a brave draw in Ranchi, the Aussies also had chances to win the Tests in Bengaluru and Dharamsala that ultimately turned the series India's way.

Quick Single: Ten defining Border-Gavaskar moments

"I think they had the belief of making things happen in these conditions, that’s something that I sensed in their body language and the way they played their cricket,” Kohli said when asked post-match why this Australia team had put up such a spirited fight.

"They believed they could win sessions and win situations, and that was the most important thing, and the most challenging thing for us.

Test wrap: Clinical India seal Border-Gavaskar

"Teams really lose their morale once they lose a Test match in India, but they kept bouncing back and they had the desire to compete throughout.

"That’s why they are the number-two side in the world.

"You expect that from Australia, once they get a sniff they put you under pressure.

"I would say their relentlessness and their desire to make things happen in these conditions was probably the reason why they kept giving us a great fight to the end of this Test match.

"So a lot of credit goes to them."