He did not have to do that: Steve Smith on Virat Kohli's World Cup gesture

Australia batting star Steve Smith has finally broken his silence on India skipper Virat Kohli’s gesture for him at the 2019 World Cup. During the match between India and Australia at the marquee event, Smith was being booed and jeered by the Indian fans as he was making his comeback to international cricket after the ball-tampering shame.

Along with David Warner, Smith had received a one-year ban for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal in the 2018 Cape Town Test. Both the stars made their international comeback through the World Cup but endured a tough time as far as the reception from the fans were concerned. The fans made sure to remind them of their mistakes at every possible opportunity.

And Indian fans also did the same when India took on Australia. However, Kohli decided to intervene and asked the crowd to support and not boo Smith. Smith finally spoke on the incident and said it was a nice gesture from the Indian skipper, which recently won Kohli International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ‘Spirit of Cricket Award’.

“In the World Cup, it was really nice of Virat (Kohli) to do what he did. He did not have to do that and yeah it was a lovely gesture and really appreciated that” Smith was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“Virat Kohli is terrific”: Steve Smith

Steve Smith also had some words of praise for Virat Kohli. Calling Kohli a terrific batsman, Smith lauded the India star for his stunning performances across all the three formats. Not only that, but Smith also backed Kohli to break even more records in the coming days.

“Yeah, he is terrific. His batting numbers just speak for themselves. I think he’s an incredible player in all three formats and I think we will see him break many records. He’s already broken plenty of them and I see him breaking many more over the years. He has got the hunger for runs and doesn’t stop getting them. Hopefully, he can stop getting them against Australia, that’ll be nice,” said Smith.