Former Australian captain Steve Waugh, one of the toughest and successful captains of all the time has lauded Indian skipper Virat Kohli for ‘calming down’ the crowd which booed Steve Smith in their World Cup clash in London, calling the gesture a ‘class act’.
He said he was impressed with Kohli’s action of asking the crowd not to boo Smith, who is continuing to cope with the fans’ anger and teasing after his return from a one-year ban for ball-tampering.
Waugh wrote for ICC, “Leadership reveals itself in many forms but I thought Virat Kohli’s gesture in calming down the rough reception given to Steve Smith by the Indian spectators was a class act that calmed a volatile situation”.
During the clash with India on Sunday, the Indian fans began to boo Steve Smith calling him, ’Cheater’ when the defending champions were fielding. Kohli meanwhile asked the irked crowd to calm down and cheer for his batting instead.
Later during the post-match press-conference, Kohli said,” I just felt for him and I told him that I am sorry on behalf of the crowd because I have seen that happen in a few earlier games as well. In my opinion that is not acceptable”.
