Actress Anushka Sharma lauded her husband and India cricket captain Virat Kohli for stopping Indian fans from booing former Australia captain Steve Smith during their World Cup match in London on Sunday. Steve, who was the captain when the Australian ball-tampering controversy took place last year, was first booed, with chants of "cheater, cheater", making the rounds while he was fielding at the third man during the Indian innings. All-rounder Hardik Pandya had just been dismissed, and the crowd tried to get under his skin with the chants.
Virat, who was batting at the time, looked up towards that section of the stadium and gestured them not to do so. He instead made a "clap" gesture and pointed towards Steve. He also did the same when Steve walked past, with both players shaking hands. "Aggressive player, benevolent man - so easy to love," Anushka posted on her Instagram story, along with a news snippet of Virat's act.
Commenting on it in a post-match press conference, Virat expressed sympathy for Steve and apologised on behalf of the Indian crowd. "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," the Indian captain said.
“If I was in a position where something had happened with me, and I’d apologised and accepted it, and came back and still I would get booed, I wouldn’t like it either.”#ViratKohli on why he asked the fans to stop booing Steve Smith. #CWC19 | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/CIMicjoSA0
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 9, 2019
Apart from Anushka, actor Ayushmann Khurrana was also impressed by Virat's on-field gesture. "A true icon. Well done captain," he tweeted.
A true icon. Well done captain! #INDvAUS #WorldCup2019 pic.twitter.com/IroCQ4blHJ
— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) June 10, 2019
(Source: IANS and Twitter)
