Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has slammed sections of the SCG crowd for booing India skipper Virat Kohli when he walked out to bat on the opening day of the fourth Test at Sydney on Thursday.
Kohli was given a mixed reception when he came to bat after the fall of opener Mayank Agarwal with the Indians fans chanting his name, while some of Australia’s fans booing the star batsman. “If it was booing then it’s absolutely disgraceful,” Ponting said on Channel 7. “I said that in the Perth Test as well. Show some respect.”
Kohli has been on the receiving end of the Australian fans in all the three Tests and Ponting and Australian batsman Travis Head had expressed their disappointment. The India skipper is no stranger to such strong reactions as he was also jeered by fans in the 2012 Sydney Test during his first tour of Australia.
During that game, Kohli was fined 50 percent of his match fee for showing his middle finger at the crowd after he was heckled by a section of fans.