Indian National Cricket Team opener Virat Kohli has opened up about the prank played on him by his teammates when he met Sachin Tendulkar for the first time. He was told by the players of the team that he should touch the foot of a great shot as it is a ritual in the team.
After struggling a lot in the domestic circuit, Virat Kohli made it to the Indian team in 2008. No one knew then that he would carry forward the legacy of Sachin Tendulkar. The batsman has taken world cricket by storm in all three formats of the game and is now the leading batsman in cricket.
Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel played a hilarious game with Virat Kohli.
Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have also shared some great partnerships for India in white ball and red ball cricket. But when they first became a part of the team, an interesting tale happened as Kohli was pranked by some of the senior players in the team.
team members, Irfan PathanYuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singhand Munaf Patelplayed a funny game on him. The senior players asked the mortician to go and touch Sachin Tendulkar’s feet, which he obliged and proceeded to do as the senior players requested.
I said, Paji, I was told I should do it – Virat Kohli
Kohli, while talking about the same incident, made it clear that Sachin Tendulkar was not involved in the incident and when he touched his feet, the batsman walked away and asked him what he was doing. Speaking during the event, he explained:
“No, he (Sachin) is not involved in this matter seriesI think we were playing in England before the Taj thing, India if I’m not mistaken. It was 2008, right? I have played in India before but Sachin Paaji was not on tour in Sri Lanka. Coincidentally, he took time off and I got the opportunity to join the team.
“And the only thing I was looking forward to in the next series was playing with him. So when I first met him, it happened and I fell at his feet. I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to do this.’ So he said, ‘What are you doing?’
Sachin Tendulkar gave some to all these guys – Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli later revealed that Sachin Tendulkar scolded the senior players when he found out they were pranking him. He revealed that Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Munaf Patel were the ones who trapped him. He elaborated:
“So I’m doing it. Then he gave some to all these guys. I think Irfan Bhai was there, involved in it. Bhajju Pa, Yuvi Paaji and of course Munaf Patel. I was hooked by his unique voice.”
“Mai pairon mai gir gaya unke”, recalling his joke when he met Virat Sachin. pic.twitter.chem/Wyetcq0ZheGJhe
— p • 💌 (@ssnoozefest) Nhevember 7, 2024
Kohli and Tendulkar were part of the Indian squad for the 2011 ICC World Cup. Both of them played an important role for the team and helped to lift the tournament.