'I appreciated Virat's warm gesture in World Cup' - Steve Smith opens up on his relationship with Virat Kohli

Since breaking into their respective national sides, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have not looked back. With every passing year, both the stalwarts have etched new records to their name with their batting expeditions across all formats of the game.

While Virat is considered proficient in the limited-overs format, Smith is touted as a beast with the red ball. Regardless of any format, both the batsmen possess the potential to single-handedly win the match for their side.

Talking about their camaraderie, no cricket fanatic can forget the sight of Kohli asking Indian fans to not boo Smith. Since his return to cricket post the ball-tampering incident, Smith was on the receiving end of a hostile reception many a time. However, in the World Cup 2019 match between India and Australia, Kohli gestured Indian fans to not boo the Australian stalwart.

The friendship between the two modern-day greats has only grown with time and Smith recently opened up about the same. The former Australia skipper termed Kohli as a ‘terrific guy’ and revealed that they have been exchanging messages in recent times.

Virat is a terrific guy and we both play hard out on the field: Steve Smith

“I had few conversations with him (Virat) off the field, few messages here and there in recent times just to see how things are going in India. He is a terrific guy and we both play hard out on the field and play as well for our respective teams and its part of the game,” said Smith on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

Smith also appreciated Kohli’s gesture to Indian fans during the World Cup encounter and expressed his excitement for the India series. Smith, who was set to lead  Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020, also heaped praise on Kohli’s ‘amazing’ captaincy.

“Virat’s gesture in the World Cup to the Indian fans that were giving Me (Smith) and David Warner little bit of a stick, I appreciated that and I share that with him straight up. He is a terrific guy and the way he has led the Indian Team has been amazing, they are amazing side and can’t wait to play them when they come out to Australia this year will be something incredibly special,” added Smith.

Here’s the clip:

🐐 recognises 🐐

What did you make of @imVkohli asking the crowd to applaud @stevesmith49 at the ICC #CWC19?

Catch the Aussie superstar himself talk about it and more on #CricketConnected! pic.twitter.com/kYhsX2vFBh

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 20, 2020