Star batter Virat Kohli opened up on a hilarious anecdote from his early days in the Indian cricket team, involving his first encounter with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli, who turned 36 just a few days ago, shared the story during an event, giving fans a glimpse into the camaraderie and fun moments that characterized his early days in international cricket.
Kohli revealed that during his debut series against Sri Lanka in 2008, he was instructed by his senior teammates to bow down to Tendulkar when they first met.
As a youngster, Kohli was keen to show respect to his idol and took the prank seriously. While Virat didn’t get a chance to meet Sachin in Sri Lanka as the latter had missed that tour, he interacted with the batting maestro in the home ODI series against England later in the year.
However, when Kohli approached Tendulkar to bow, the cricketing icon stopped him in his tracks, understanding the situation. It was only then Kohli realized he had been pranked by his mischievous seniors.
"He [Tendulkar] was not involved. We were playing against England in India before the Taj incident [Mumbai attack] in 2008. I have played for India before but Sachin paaji was not there in Sri Lanka. He had taken a rest, and I got an opportunity to be a member of the squad. And the only thing I was looking forward to in the next series was to play with him," Kohli said.
"So, the first time I met him and this happened, main toh pairon me gir gaya, maine kaha karna padta hoga. Toh woh piche hat rahe,'yeh kya kar raha he tu?'. Main unko bhi nahi bol pa raha hoon ki paaji bola gaya hai karna padta hai yahaan pe. Main kar raha hoon," he added.
Virat Kohli further disclosed that his then teammates Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Munaf Patel were behind the prank. He also mentioned that Irfan and Pathan were the key culprits.
"Then he gave all these guys a little bit..I think Irfan bhai was there...ofcourse Munaf Patel. He [Munaf] used to be the one cheering from behind ki karo karo with his unique voice. So, unhone sabne mereko fasaya," Kohli reminisced.
Since then, Virat Kohli has surpassed many of Sachin Tendulkar’s records, including becoming the fastest player to reach 25,000, 26,000, and 27,000 runs in international cricket. Kohli also set new records during the 2023 World Cup, going past Tendulkar’s milestones to become the most century maker (50*) in ODIs.
