On World Kindness Day, ICC pays ode to Virat Kohli's WC gesture for Steve Smith

On the occasion of World Kindness Day on Wednesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took to Twitter to share a throwback moment from the World Cup earlier this year in England. ICC shared a clip of Indian skipper Virat Kohli from the India-Australia match where he urged the crowd at The Oval to applaud Steve Smith instead of booing him for the 'Sandpaper Scandal' for which he was banned from international cricket for a year. Kohli's kind gestured was appreciated by Steve Smith as he was seen thanking him in the match as soon as Kohli gestured the crowd to stop the insulting chants and applaud him instead. 

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ICC remembers Kohli's kind gesture

During India's match with Australia, Smith faced a massive backlash by spectators for his role in the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal. People present at the stadium started booing Smith when Australia were on the field. With Smith facing enough criticism, Kohli who was batting at the time, stepped up and came forward. He urged the spectators to cheer and applaud for Smith, instead of booing him during the game time. Kohli was seen showing clap gestures, hence urging fans to stop booing Smith. The Indian skipper was lauded by several personalities of the game and netizens equally. 

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Following Kohli's kind gesture, Smith patted him on back thereby thanking him. When Kohli was asked why he rooted for Smith, he said, "The guy is back, its not good to see someone down like that. You don't want to see a guy feeling the heat, every time he goes out to play. He didn't do anything to be booed, he's just playing cricket." 

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Despite India's dominating and spectacular run in the ICC World Cup 2019, India failed to lift the cup by a small margin as they crashed out of the semis as they lost to the Kiwis. However, the World Cup witnessed several positives for the team as Rohit Sharma notched up 5 brilliant centuries and Jasprit Bumrah put up a splendid show in front of the England crowd. Hosts England went on to win their first World Cup in a dramatic and unforgettable against New Zealand. 

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