Steven Smith, former Australia captain, lauded Indian skipper Virat Kohli for deciding to leave the Test series against Australia after the first Test to be with his wife Anushka Sharma for their first child’s birth. Kohli and Smith were interacting as part of a Cricket Australia initiative to add to the excitement of the upcoming Test series by involving two of the greatest players of modern-day cricket in a conversation and get the world talking about it.
“Obviously it’s unfortunate that you are only here for the first Test, but credit to you for having made that decision of going back home to be with your wife for the birth of your first child. I think it’s a milestone,” Smith said while answering one of Kohli’s questions during the interaction, which has been uploaded on cricket.com.au’s official YouTube channel.
“I am sure you have had a lot of pressure to stay and play, but you would be kicking had you not made that decision, after all, we are human beings and there is life outside of the game as well,” he added.
Earlier in the chat, Smith thanked Kohli for standing up in his favour when the Indian fans were booing him (for sandpaper-gate) during the Australia-India World Cup match in 2019.
“I appreciate that,” Smith said referring to Kohli’s gesture of sportsmanship and camaraderie. “I think I had sent you a message that night saying ‘Mate thanks for that, that was top class’,” added the 31-year-old.
Replying to it, Kohli said, “Look things happen on the field. You had come back after a long time, having realized what had happened. Obviously, you guys had gone through what you were supposed to. I feel people make mistakes and they learn from it. I just believe it’s not fair to target individuals personally.”
“It was that feeling at the moment that I had and I instinctively told them not to boo. And as much as we play against each other, there is always a human side to things,” he added.
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