Virat Kohli has revealed the story behind his nickname ‘Cheeku’ and how MS Dhoni made it famous from behind the stumps.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is fondly called ‘Cheeku’ by his teammates and now also by a lot of his fans. During the Instagram LIVE session with former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, he has revealed that he got this nickname from his Ranji Trophy coach during his early days and it is related to a cartoon character.

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“I got this nickname from the coach that we had in the state team, in the Ranji trophy. I used to have big cheeks back then and I got my hairs cut very short and I have big ears. So, my cheeks and ears stood out," he said. 

"We used to have a comic in India called champak. There was a rabbit in that comic and that character's name was Cheeku. So, the coach called me Cheeku because I had big ears and that is where the nickname came from,” Kohli said during his Instagram LIVE session.

During the early days of the Delhi-boy in his international career, this nickname was only known to his teammates. However, we know how MS Dhoni has a habit of talking to his bowlers and fielders while keeping wickets and during one of those mentions of ‘Cheeku’ to Kohli, people picked it up.

The 31-year-old revealed, “MS (Dhoni) has sort of made my nickname famous from behind the stumps. In the stumps mic, people pick up.”