After his team’s convincing 36-run victory in the World Cup 2019 clash over Australia, India skipper Virat Kohli said he was disappointed to see the way Steve Smith was booed by the Indian crowd present at Oval. Kohli termed the whole state of affairs as unacceptable and went to reveal that he apologised to the Aussie batsman on the field.
Smith and Warner are back in the Australia fold after serving year-long bans for their roles in the ball-tampering plot. Upon their return, the duo is not having a pleasant time in UK, with fans from several countries teasing them from the stands.
The Indian cricket fans also got overboard during Sunday’s clash and started booing Smith when he was fielding close to the boundary ropes. Seeing the unkind behaviour of his country’s crowd, the Indian captain felt sorry for his former counterpart and gestured the fans to ease off on the abuse.
“Because there were so many Indian fans here I just didn’t want them to set a bad example, you know?” Kohli told reporters after the match.
“He’s just playing cricket, he’s just standing there. I felt bad because if I was in a position where something had happened with me and I apologised, I accepted it and I came back and still I got booed, I wouldn’t like it either.
“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 is not acceptable,” he added.
Smith appears to have found an unlikely ally in Kohli, since the two have previously appeared at loggerheads on the field, most notably during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2017 in 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 remarked.
“I think what’s happened has happened. The guy’s back, he’s trying to play well for his side. Even in the IPL, I saw him – it’s not good to see someone down like that. What’s happened has happened, everyone knows that. He’s come back, he’s worked hard, he’s playing well for his side,” he further said.
