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Lesser known facts about Virat Kohli: His favorite cricketer was not Sachin Tendulkar
Have a look at some of the lesser known facts about Indian skipper Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game. His staggering numbers are a testimony to his hard work and passion for the game. Till date, he has represented India in 77 Tests, 236 ODIs and 68 T20Is in a career spanning 11 years from 2008. He has scored over 25000 runs across formats and has 66 centuries to his name.
Here we have a look at some of the lesser known facts about Virat Kohli:
1. How he got the nickname "Cheeku"?
We have often heard Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh calling Virat Kohli as "Cheeku". Many think that this nickname was coined by MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. As it turns out, Virat had attained his nickname even before playing for the national side. While representing Delhi in the Ranji Trophy during the initial days of his career Kohli had a fear of his hair falling out. He rushed to a nearby salon and had his hair cropped short. After the cut, with big ears and a shaved head, Virat looked bizarre to his Delhi teammates and the then Assistant Coach of his Ranji side, Ajith Chowdhury started calling Kohli as "Cheeku" as he resembled the cartoon character from Champak.
2. His favorite cricketer was not Sachin Tendulkar
The rate at which he is scoring runs for the national side, Virat might break many of the records held by Sachin Tendulkar. But he was not his favorite player. While captaining the India U-19 side in the 2008 World Cup, like all other players in the tournament, Virat had to shoot an introduction video for the broadcasters. In that introduction video he mentioned his favorite cricketer as South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs. During that period, the South African scored a magnificent 175 to help the African nation chase down 434 in an ODI game against Australia at Johannesburg.
3. His favorite recipe is the Mutton Biryani cooked by his mother.
Being born in a Punjabi family, Virat used to have Butter Roti and Butter Chicken as part of his diet during his younger days. After getting selected in the national side, he has adopted a strict diet regime and hits the gym daily and also encourages his teammates to do so. But Virat has a weak spot for home cooked food especially, the Mutton Biryani and Kheer cooked by his mother.
4. Virat Kohli's cheat days come once in a blue moon
Team India's fitness trainer Shanker Basu revealed that the skipper never has any cheat day. He said, "His cheat days come once in a blue moon, I have not seen him take one in the last two years. I am telling you that fellow is a freak. There will be months together he would go on and I would force him to take a rest."
