Virat Kohli expressed his sympathy for Steven Smith and apologised on behalf of the crowd after the former Australia captain was heckled by the India dominated crowd at the Oval.

Kohli was batting when Smith was sent to field on the boundary at one stage of India's innings. Spectators near Smith started chanting, "Cheater!" repeatedly but Kohli, in the middle, gestured to the India insignia on his helmet, pointed at Smith and clapped in an effort to quiet the crowd.

"Just because there's so many Indian fans here, I just didn't want them to set a bad example, to be honest, because he didn't do anything to be booed in my opinion," Kohli said. "He's just playing cricket. He was just standing there, and I felt bad because if I was in a position where something had happened with me and I had apologised, I accepted it and I came back and still I would get booed, I wouldn't like it, either.

"So I just felt for him, and I told him, I'm sorry on behalf of the crowd because I've seen that happen in a few earlier games, as well, and in my opinion that's not acceptable."

Smith and David Warner have been booed and heckled repeatedly on the field since their return to the Australian team following their one-year bans over the ball-tampering incident at Newlands. But while Kohli has had various run-ins with Smith - most memorably when he suggested Smith had deliberately sought guidance from the dressing room while deciding whether to review a decision during Australia's Test tour of India in 2017 - he said he felt for Smith in his current circumstance.

"Look, I think what's happened has happened like long back, the guy is back, he's trying to play well for his side," Kohli said. "Even in the IPL I saw him, it's not good to see someone down like that, to be honest. We've had issues in the past. We've had a few arguments on the field. But you don't want to see a guy feeling that heat every time he goes out to play.

"What's happened has happened. Everyone has known that. He's come back. He's worked hard. He's playing well for his side now."