Virat Kohli tells fans to stop booing Steve Smith at Cricket World Cup

Cricket villain’s moment of class: Virat Kohli turns on his own fans after disgraced Aussie batsman Steve Smith is met with boos and ‘cheater’ chants

  • Virat Kohli intervened when Steve Smith was getting abused on the boundary 
  • India fans chanted ‘cheater’ at Australian captain, referring to sandpaper-gate 
  • But Kohli wanted supporters to applaud Smith and stuck up for opposition star
  • ‘You don’t want to see a guy feeling that heat every time’, the India batsman said

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli turned on fans after spectators jeered and booed at Australian batsman Steve Smith during the Cricket World Cup.

Smith had been jogging towards the boundary before outraged fans ridiculed the former Australian captain from the stands at Kennington Oval in London on Sunday.

The 30-year-old had only recently returned from a year-long ban after his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal last year.

Disappointed cricket fans showed they weren’t going to let the disgraced batsman live down his past, as they chanted, ‘Cheater, cheater, cheater’. 

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli (pictured) turned on fans after spectators jeered and booed at Australian batsman Steve Smith during the Cricket World Cup

Smith had been jogging towards the boundary before outraged fans ridiculed the former Australian captain from the stands at Kennington Oval in London on Sunday (pictured, in an act of good faith, Smith

Smith had been jogging towards the boundary before outraged fans ridiculed the former Australian captain from the stands at Kennington Oval in London on Sunday (pictured, in an act of good faith, Smith

In a moment of pure class, a firm Kohli quickly intervened and waved to the crowd to get their attention.

He gestured to his fans to clap and applaud his opponent in an act of goodwill.

An appreciative Smith later shook hands with his opponent in a display of sportsmanship. 

‘What’s happened has happened like long back, the guy is back, he’s trying to play well for his side,’ Kohli said after the game.

‘Even in the IPL I saw him, it’s not good to see someone down like that, to be honest.

‘I just felt for him, and I told him, ‘I’m sorry on behalf of the crowd’. 

‘Because I’ve seen that happen in a few earlier games, as well, and in my opinion that’s not acceptable.’

Kohli is the first player to make such a statement to a crowd since Smith and David Warner’s returns.

The two Australian cricketers have been met with jeers throughout the tournament – from a chilly reception at Bristol to heated tension at Nottingham – over the 2018 ball tampering scandal known as Sandpapergate.  

Television cameras had caught cricket player Cameron Bancroft rough up one side of the cricket ball with sandpaper during the third Test-Match against South Africa in Cape Town.

Then-captain Smith and former vice-captain Warner were also involved and were slapped with 12-month bans, while Bancroft received a nine-month suspension.

Kohli is the first player to make such a statement to a crowd since Smith and David Warner's returns

Kohli is the first player to make such a statement to a crowd since Smith and David Warner’s returns

Kohli’s gesture of sportsmanship comes despite the Indian cricket captain sharing a fractured history on the field with Smith. 

Most notably, the India captain all but accused Smith of cheating in 2017 when he looked to the dressing room before deciding whether to review an lbw decision against India.

‘We’ve had issues in the past. We’ve had a few arguments on the field. But you don’t want to see a guy feeling that heat every time he goes out to play,’ Kohli said.

‘So just because there’s so many Indian fans here, I just didn’t want them to set a bad example, to be honest.

‘I felt bad because if I was in a position where something had happened with me and I had apologised, I accepted it and I came back and still I would get booed, I wouldn’t like it, either.’

Australia’s allrounder Glenn Maxwell however said it indicated the two teams were quite close, away from the on-field aggression.

‘I’m not surprised because we do get along as individuals with him really well off the field,’ he said.

‘All we want to do is play our cricket hard and he does that, he gets in opposition faces.’

Smith has only recently returned from a yearlong ban after his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal last year

Smith has only recently returned from a yearlong ban after his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal last year 

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