Former Australian cricketers Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn recalled, on the Club Prairie Fire page on X, the comic moment involving their team and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar after winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2006.

Video footage showed Aussie players pushing Pawar off the stage after he handed the trophy to Ricky Ponting.

While the Aussie players just went on with their business, the move attracted the wrath of Indians who were out burning flags and writing Martyn’s name on a donkey.

“He [Pawar] was in the way of our photo… ‘Brad Hogg asked him politely [to move], Ricky Ponting didn’t say anything, so I nudged him,” the former Aussies batter recalled.

He realised the gravity of the situation when he went into the changing room and team manager Steve Bernard asked him to talk to Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland.

“It certainly escalated…. we then had to write a letter [to Pawar] apologising,” Martyn said.

“It wasn’t over yet either…the next day, [Indian] fans were burning flags of me in the street and there was a donkey with my name written on it surrounded by a mob. I’m not sure if the donkey survived,” he added.