Virat Kohli handed ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for asking India fans not to boo Steve Smith

Kohli was batting when the jeers rang out during the World Cup clash and, in between overs, he walked towards the stand from which the boos were emanating and gestured to them to clap Smith

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Virat Kohli has been given the ICC's Spirit of Cricket award for 2019.

Kohli picked up the prize following his actions during the World Cup match between his country and Australia at The Oval in June.

The Indian skipper urged fans not to boo Steve Smith while the batsman was fielding near the boundary, not long after he returned from a year-long ball-tampering ban.

Kohli was batting when the jeers rang out and, in between overs, he walked towards the stand from which the boos were emanating and gestured to them to clap Smith.

"I’m surprised that I have got it, after many years of being under the scanner for the wrong things," Kohli said.

"It is part of camaraderie that sportsmen must have with each other. That moment was purely understanding an individual’s situation. I don’t think a guy who is coming out of a situation like that needs to be taken advantage of.

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"You can sledge, can have have banter on the field, you say things to the opposition in wanting to beat them. But booing someone is not in the spirit of any sport, I don’t endorse it.

"Also, that should not be a representation of our fans and what we stand as a cricketing nation, a sporting nation. We need to all take responsibility towards that. Intimidate the opposition, definitely try and have an upper hand but in a matter that is not targeting someone emotionally. That is not acceptable at any level and people should be wary of that."

Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne was named as the emerging player of the year after scoring 1,104 runs in 11 Tests, having first come into the Australia side as a concussion substitute for Smith during the Ashes.

Kyle Coetzer claimed the associate player of the year, while Richard Illingworth was announced as umpire of the year.

Deepak Chahar took the T20I performance of the year award for his astonishing figures of 6-7 against Bangladesh.