Sydney: Star India batter Virat Kohli is always in the spotlight because of either his performances of aggression on the field. The recently concluded series between India and Australia was no exception and Kohli came up with a dramatic action to mock the home crowd in the fifth Test played at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The 36-year-old gestured to the crowd that there is no sandpaper in his pockets or inside his pants. His imitations were in reference to the Sandpaper incident which resulted in three Australian cricketers facing ban for a specific period.
At the end of the 11th over of Australia’s second innings during the third day of the fifth Test, the incident which reminded fans of the Sandpaper incident occurred. Kohli turned his pockets inside out and showed them to the crowd to indicate that there was no sandpaper. Further, he stretched the waistband of his pants to show that there was nothing inside with reference to the infamous Sandpaper incident in 2018 in a Test match between Australia and South Africa.
No sandpaper in sight here! 😶🤫#ViratKohli shares a light-hearted banter with the crowd, while #IrfanPathan perfectly sums up #TeamIndia's clean and fair game!#AUSvINDOnStar 👉 5th Test, Day 3 | LIVE NOW | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/7lhSO8nq2L
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 5, 2025
Interestingly, Virat Kohli was awarded ICC’s Spirit of Cricket award in 2019 for his heartwarming gesture during the fixture between India and Australia in the ODI World Cup. Back then, Kohli urged the Indian fans not to boo the star Australian batter Steve Smith when he was fielding near the boundary for his involvement in the controversy.
India lost the Border Gavaskar Trophy by 1-3 on Sunday as the visitors won the fixture by six wickets. Jasprit Bumrah was Man of the Series by taking 32 wickets across the series. Scott Boland, who picked 21 wickets from three matches, ensured 10 dismissals in the last match of the series and bagged the Player of the Series award.
