Virat Kohli reveals how he got the nickname 'cheeku' and how MS Dhoni made it famous on TV

Amid the stern situation of coronavirus pandemic spreading its wrath around the globe, the world is under lockdown where people are spending their time in isolation. With major sporting events getting postponed and cancelled, cricketers are nowadays seen interacting with their fans on social media. Many cricketers including Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer were spotted doing Q&A session on Twitter.

Meanwhile, former England star Kevin Pietersen was also spotted spending his quarantine time by interacting with many famous players like Ahmed Shehzad, Dale Steyn and Rohit Sharma. And it was the current Indian skipper– Virat Kohli– who was the latest guest on Pietersen’s Instagram live. From the possibility of IPL 2020 to Kohli’s captaincy stint, the duo discussed on varied topics during the interaction.

In the candid chat with Pietersen, the current Indian skipper also revealed how his nickname ‘cheeku’ got famous over the years. Kohli revealed that it all started with Dhoni calling out to him by his nickname. And, the stumps’ mic caught the voice and the world, in no time, caught up the nickname. The batting maestro also recited the incident when his coach in Ranji Trophy started calling him ‘cheeku’.

“MS (Dhoni) has sort of made my nickname famous from behind the stumps. In the stumps’ mic, people pick up,” Kohli told Pietersen during the Instagram live chat.

“I got this nickname from a coach in the Ranji Trophy. I used to have big cheeks then. In 2007, I thought I was losing hair. I got my hair cropped and my cheeks and ears stood out. I got the name from a cartoon character. The rabbit in the comic book Champak,” he said.

Virat Kohli also heaped praise on MS Dhoni

The run-machine of India also revealed his favourite batting partner while playing for the international team. The 31-year-old named former Indian skipper MS Dhoni as his favourite partner. Kohli, over the years, has established himself as one of the fittest athletes. Hence, he loves batting with someone who runs well and understands his calls, and he sees MS Dhoni fitting in both these criteria.

“I love guys who can run really well and who understand my calling and intent to run. So I think MS, when playing for India we’ve run the best together,” Virat Kohli said to Pietersen.

Furthermore, Kohli also added the name of his Royal Challengers Bangalore in the list. Other than MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli added that he loves batting with is South Africa‘s stalwart AB de Villiers. Both Kohli and De Villiers have decimated many bowling lineups while batting together for RCB in the Indian Premier League.

“And AB! I mean AB and me are like, we don’t even have to say anything, the partnership flows. We don’t even talk while we are batting. It’s just amazing,” said Kohli.