ICC World Cup 2019 | It was a lovely gesture by Virat Kohli, acknowledges Steve Smith
BCCI
Steve Smith reckons the support he received from Indian skipper Virat Kohli, during India-Australia encounter, as a lovely gesture. The crowd in London was booing Smith in the outfield to which, Kohli intervened to not only stop them from doing so but also gestured to applaud him.
Smith was bound to have a tough time in England, not with the bat but on the field against the crowd. After serving a one-year ban for his involvement in the sandpaper gate scandal, Smith returned to the national side just before the World Cup. During the India-Australia battle in London, the crowd booed the Australian batsman when Kohli showed great sportsmanship by stepping up and asking them to stop and applaud Smith. While the crowdâs booing did not bother him, Steve Smith heaped praise on Kohliâs gesticulation by phrasing it as a âlovely gestureâ.
"Yeah, it was a lovely gesture. It doesn't really bother me what the crowd do to be perfectly honest, I'm just sort of blocking it all out but it was a lovely gesture from Virat, that's for sure," Smith said, reported ESPNCricinfo.Â
India won the crucial encounter by 36 runs but this moment accounted one of the highlights of the tournament. Kohli also admitted that he apologised to Smith on behalf of India fans as he felt that the latter had done nothing wrong to be booed in this manner.Â
"I think what's happened has happened long back. The guy is back, trying to play well for his side. Even in the IPL I saw him, it's not good to see a guy feel down. You don't want to see someone feel the heat every time he plays. Just because there are so many Indian fans here, I don't want them to set a bad example. He didn't do anything to be booed in my opinion. I felt for him and told him sorry on behalf of the crowd. In my opinion that's not acceptable," Kohli said in a post-match presentation earlier.Â
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