Virat Kohli thinks comparing him with Sachin Tendulkar is not fair to the master blaster.
Virat Kohli dived headfirst onto the Sachin Tendulkar's feet the first time he met his idol in the locker-room. And it wasn't his idea of paying respect. Virat, rather, was under the impression that he was fulfilling the traditional duty of a rookie Indian cricketer.
Virat Kohli, in one of the latest episodes of Breakfast with Champions hosted by Gaurav Kapoor, narrated a hilarious story on how his admiration for Sachin was used to good effect by Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan to prank him when he was first selected to play for India.
Kohli now stands just behind Tendulkar in the list of all-time ODI century scorers. Many believe that he would go on to break some of Tendulkar's biggest records.
Asked about his first-ever meeting with Sachin in the Indian dressing room, Virat said, "After getting selected, the initial two days the only thing I could think about is meeting Sachin in the dressing room in any way possible. And these people got wind of it because I had told that to someone."
Virat said that Yuvraj, Munaf, Irfan and Harbhajan somehow convinced him that it was a tradition in the Indian dressing room for any new player to touch Sachin’s feet with their head, as a mark of respect. Otherwise 'No guarantees' he was told.
Virat was quick to believe them and the first time he met Sachin in the locker-room, the 20-year-old Kohli went headfirst onto the his feet. Of course, there was no such tradition and Sachin was taken aback by Virat's gesture.
A surprised Sachin asked him what was going on and Virat got up to chuckles from the mischief-makers.
It's been more than nine years since the day. Virat has established himself as one-of-the-best batsmen in the world and has filled Sachin's huge shoes as India's main batsman.
Kohli recently went past Ricky Ponting's mark of 30 ODI centuries and already has 32 centuries to his name.
Only Sachin, with 49 tons in the 50-over format is ahead of the current India skipper.
However, Kohli insisted that comparisons with Sachin are ridiculous and unfair on the master blaster. "There's no question of being compared to him. Because of everything he has given us, he doesn't deserve to be compared with anyone. Not at least in the current generation," Kohli said.
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