Controversies aside, India-Australia series will be remembered for long: Simon Katich

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Simon Katich on Tuesday said too much should not be read into it the aggression displayed by both India and Australia in the hard fought series.

Constant sledging and the DRS controversy in the second Test added to growing hostilities between the two teams in the bitterly fought series.

"India deserve a lot of credit for fighting back after they were handsomely beaten in Pune. They dug deep and showed why they are number one team in the world," the former Australian batsman said.

"Regardless of what happened at different times, I thought it was a fantastic series. Sometimes that happens in Test cricket, emotions take over and players do get carried away with the spirit of the moment stuff. It was a fantastic series that will be remembered for a long time."

He also praised the Steve Smith led Australians for giving India a tough fight in their own backyard.

"For a young side, Australia played some fantastic cricket and put up a tough fight but fell on the final hurdle unfortunately. They deserve a lot of credit for showing fight in this series."

The Aussie 41-year-old, who is the assistant coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, is excited about working with India's in-form players Umesh Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav during the IPL.

"They both have big roles to play no doubt about that. Umesh is bowling a lot quicker at the moment, bowled beautifully with new ball in Tests. He will be crucial in our campaign," Katich said.

For the spinner, he said: "Kuldeep is an exciting young prospect. He got three wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad last year. Given the depth in our squad, we have got a number of options and it would be tough to pick the team with so many guys doing well."