London: India skipper Virat Kohli showed his classy side on Sunday when he asked a section of the crowd to stop the “cheater” chants at Steve Smith.
Kohli walked towards the stands and asked the crowd to clap for Smith who was stationed at the long-off boundary.
After seeing the gesture, Smith walked up to Kohli to shake hands with him.
Smith and David Warner who were banned for a year over their roles in the ball-tampering scandal have been at the receiving end as the duo cope flurry of boos ever since they landed in the UK.
Kohli’s action earned him a lot of praise on social media.
However, Smith was booed again when he walked out to bat after Australia lost skipper Aaron Finch to a run out.
Hope history repeats itself: Virat Kohli
Meanwhile, Skipper Kohli has expressed hope that the Indian team can repeat history by winning another World Cup in England, 36 years after its maiden triumph in 1983.
At a reception hosted by the Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ruchi Ghanashyam, Kohli told the Indian diaspora that “special things” can happen together.
“We can feel the love and warmth. We really look forward to all the support that we can get from all of you throughout this campaign,” said Kohli in reference to the diaspora support at the ICC World Cup fixtures across England and Wales.
The event to welcome the Indian cricket team to the UK was attended by senior Indian-origin parliamentarians and entrepreneurs as well as British Foreign Office ministers Mark Field and Lord Tariq Ahmad.
SON OF THE SOIL!
Virat Kohli received a box of soil from his alma mater, Vishal Bharti Public School, which was presented to him when the team lined-up for the national anthem ahead of their clash against Australia at the Oval on Sunday.
The Indian skipper, who never shies away from showing his love for the nation, was pictured smelling the soil as India coach coach Ravi Shastri and former captain MS Dhoni watched on. Kohli started his schooling at the Vishal Bharti before moving to the Saviour Convent in his ninth grade.
The Indian envoy also confirmed that the cricket diplomacy initiative launched by Prime Minister Narenda Modi during his visit to the UK last April for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is set to kick off from October.
