Indian men’s cricket team captain Virat Kohli was awarded the ICC’s ‘2019 Spirit of Cricket’ award on Wednesday for his gesture during the ICC World Cup last year in the league match between India and Austalia.
Taking to their official Twitter handle, ICC announced the news. They tweeted, “Who remembers this gesture from Virat Kohli during #CWC19? The Indian captain is the winner of the 2019 Spirit of Cricket Award. #ICCAwards.”
Who remembers this gesture from Virat Kohli during #CWC19?
The Indian captain is the winner of the 2019 Spirit of Cricket Award 🙌 #ICCAwards pic.twitter.com/Z4rVSH8X7x
— ICC (@ICC) January 15, 2020
During the match between India and Australia on June 9 at The Oval, a section of the Indian crowd was giving an unsympathetic reception to Smith, when he was fielding near the boundary line.
A group of Indian supporters started booing at the cricketer as they chanted “cheater cheater”, hinting at the infamous ball-tampering incident of 2018 involving Smith and two other Australians.
Kohli, who was batting at that time, took notice of the ongoing incident near the ropes. Taken aback by the fans’ reaction, he gestured towards the Indian supporters as he insisted them to appreciate and cheer Smith instead of booing him.
It was a reflection of Kohli’s true sportsmanship given he and Smith have been involved in numerous bitter banters over the years.