Open Letter: Kerry O'Keeffe apologises to Indian cricketers and fans

What's the story?

After drawing the anger of the Indian cricket team by disrespecting their domestic structure and the names of their players, Australian commentator Kerry O'Keeffe has come up with an open letter in order to apologise for his statements.

Attributing his controversial comments to his light-hearted style of commentary, O'Keeffe expressed his respect for Indian cricket and claimed that his views were entirely 'tongue in cheek'.

The background

While on commentary during the 3rd test match between Australia and India, Kerry O'Keeffe had labeled the Indian Railways bowlers as 'canteen staff' while referring to Mayank Agarwal's 300 in the Ranji Trophy.

Later in the match, O'Keeffe also joked about the names of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja after facing difficulty while trying to pronounce them on air. Needless to say, his jibes generated massive backlash from both Indian players as well as the fans.

The heart of the matter

Kerry O' Keeffe, who is a part of the commentary panel for Fox Cricket, wrote an open apology which has been released on the Fox Cricket website.

Kerry wrote, "I have been devastated by the reaction to my on-air comments on Fox Cricket during the recently completed Third Test between Australia and India. I am coming to terms with how negatively those words have been interpreted."

He added, "That interpretation is not who I am. It is not what I represent. My style as a commentator is to attempt to find a quirky view to lighten up some of the serious analysis. When I made a remark about Indian first-class batting averages within their domestic cricket competition being made against a “canteen” bowling attack, I was being entirely tongue in cheek. I was certainly not disrespecting Indian cricket, where I toured as a schoolboy and for which I have the greatest admiration as a cricketing nation."

What's next?

Although he generated a storm during the Melbourne Test, one can expect Kerry O'Keeffe to express himself in a more careful manner when he gets on air for the final Test match between Australia and India. The New Year's Test is slated to begin on 3rd January.