File image of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar© AFP
Former India skipper Virat Kohli has said he feels embarrassed when people compare him with Sachin Tendulkar and noted that the legendary cricketer has been a source of inspiration and comfort. “I just laugh it off every time. These people have no idea about the game. I feel embarrassed when I am compared to Sachin though I get where these people are coming from with all those statistics and stuff. But these stats tell you a different story. The impact a player leaves on you as a child growing up is very different,” Kohli said in an interview with former India cricketer Robin Uthappa on Jio Cinema.
Kohli said nobody should be compared with Sachin and Viv Richards because they revolutionised the game in their era.
“Sachin Tendulkar always has been emotion for me, if you speak to anyone, they look at him as their own because everyone has faith and trust in him, he was the source of inspiration and comfort, when he scored runs, life was good,” Kohli said.
“Nobody should be compared with Sachin and Viv Richards because they revolutionised the game in their era and the belief people had in them was rare, it rare to have that belief in one player,” he added.
Kohli praised the Kolkata Knight Riders’ young batter Rinku Singh.
“Today in IPL there are so many match winners, people winning games out of nowhere. Like Rinku Singh hitting five sixes in five balls. I could not even think of doing stuff that these guys are doing. But they (Sachin and Viv) were doing so when nobody was doing it. That’s why they are regarded as icons,” Kohli said.
Talking about his lean patch, Kohli revealed how his wife and actress Anushka Sharma helped him to come out from a negative state of mind.
“Anushka’s conversations with me have always been priceless, she tells me the truth and straight forward, if I would have left myself in that phase (Before Asia Cup), I would have become an egoistic maniac – she brings me to base level for a normal guy,” Kohli said.
In the ongoing IPL Virat Kohli is the fifth highest run-getter and has scored 214 runs in four matches with a strike rate of 147.58. His highest score is unbeaten 82 runs. His runs have come at an average of 71.33 and he has three half-centuries in four matches so far.
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