Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar are legends in their own rights. If Tendulkar wooed the cricket fans with his consistency in the nineties and 2000s, Kohli took on the baton from where his idol finished in 2013. Since then, Kohli has been the poster boy of Indian cricket, taking the team to great heights. In fact, Kohli broke Tendulkar’s world record of most hundreds in ODIs in front of his idol at the Wankhede Stadium in the 2023 World Cup.
The duo has always shared a great bond both on and off the field. The former Indian captain has often spoken about his admiration for Tendulkar publicly. With less than a month to go before the Indian Premier League (IPL) to start, reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) shared a video on Friday where Kohli once again spoke in admiration of the Master Blaster.
Kohli was asked what’s that one quality would be take from a celebrities like Shahrukh Khan, MS Dhoni, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Taylor Swift and Tendulkar. While the former Indian captain was quick to answer in one word when the names of others were called out, Kohli couldn’t stop himself from speaking his heart out for Tendulkar.
“Everything,” responded Kohli initially when Tendulkar’s name was called out. “One thing that I would like to have is the lap shot. He is the first one who started to lap the spinners so precisely. It was smooth; never looked rushed. I am a mess playing those shots, so yes, the smooth lap,” added Kohli.
From the other celebrities, Kohli asked for “contentment” from Dhoni, “discipline” from Ronaldo and Messi’s “miraculous ability”.
What’s next for Virat Kohli?
Having already retired from T20Is and Tests, Kohli only plays in the ODI format for India. The last time Kohli played for India was in the month of January against New Zealand, just before T20 World Cup 2026. With India not playing any ODIs until June, Kohli will next be seen in RCB colours in March in the upcoming edition of IPL.
The 19th season of IPL will start on March 28 with the final to be played on May 31. RCB are the defending champions of IPL with the franchise and Kohli laying their hands on the coveted trophy for the first time last year, beating Punjab Kings in the final.
