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True Spirit: Kohli Stands up for Steve Smith, Asks Audience to Clap, not Boo

Monday, June 10, 2019 • Common Sport News Comments

In the match yesterday between India and Australia, Steve Smith was booed yet again. When the Aussie batsman was fielding in the deep, Indian fans began to give him a hard time. Seeing this, Virat Kohli walked a bit towards the stands, caught the attention of the audience and asked them to clap, not boo. He can be seen questioning the fans as to what they’re doing. This is in the true spirit of cricket and many have been applauding the Captain for his gesture. 

In the post-match presentation, Kohli said: "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." Acknowledging their past issues, he said that even despite them "you don't want to see someone feel the heat every time he plays."  

The Captain also spoke about setting the right example: "Just because there are so many Indian fans here, I just didn't want them to set a bad example, to be honest, because he didn't do anything to be booed in my opinion. He's just playing cricket. He was just standing there, and I felt bad because if I was in a position where something had happened with me and I had apologized, I accepted it and I came back and still I would get booed, I wouldn't like it, either." He added: "I felt for him and told him sorry on behalf of the crowd. In my opinion that's not acceptable." 

This was definitely very considerate of Kohli. The captain's wife Anushka Sharma also shared the incident on Instagram saying "Aggressive player, benevolent man - so easy to love." Australian fans are thrilled with Kohli's gesture. Smith later walked up to Kohli shaking his hand and giving him a pat on the back as if to say thanks. ICC shared the incident on Twitter saying “absolute class” and “spirit of cricket.” It was a good game all around. 

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