Virat Kohli's Bold Gesture: Mocking Aussies with Sandpaper Move and Emptying Pockets after Smith's Dismissal

Kohli mimicked pulling out sandpaper from his pockets - a nod to the scandalous sandpapergate incident that shook the Australian cricket world in 2018. The incident involved Cameron Bancroft being caught on camera tampering with the ball using sandpaper during a Test match against South Africa, in an attempt to assist the Australian bowlers.

The scandal resulted in Bancroft, as well as then-captain Steve Smith and his deputy, David Warner, receiving bans. Both, Smith and Warner were banned from international cricket for a year, with the former also being stripped off of captaincy. A few years later, however, Cricket Australia would go on to lift the leadership ban on Smith.

Watch Kohli's gesture:

Virat Kohli's relationship with the Australian crowd has always been turbulent, but during the ongoing series, the animosity has reached new heights. The 36-year-old sparked controversy in the fourth Test in Melbourne following a shoulder-thud incident with debutant Sam Konstas, which placed him under intense scrutiny.

Despite receiving a 20 percent fine on his match fee and being relentlessly booed by the Aussie fans throughout the game, Kohli refused to be intimidated. Instead, he responded by urging the crowd to boo even louder, showing he was unfazed by their hostility and ready to fuel the tension further.

The 36-year-old stepped in as captain on Day 3 in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the ongoing Sydney Test; Bumrah faced an injury during the second day of the Test, and was rushed to hospital for scans. It was later revealed that Bumrah was dealing with back spasm, and while he did bat in India's second innings, India were without their star pacer in Australia's 162-run chase.

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