[Watch] Virat Kohli names Ben Stokes as his current favorite cricketer

Indian star batter Virat Kohli has named England all-rounder Ben Stokes as his favorite player from the current generation. Kohli has had some interesting face-offs with Stokes over the years, but is an admirer of the way the England Test captain plays his cricket.

In a video where Kohli had a candid chat with Star Sports, here's what he had to say about his idol growing up and his current favorite cricketer:

"My cricketing idol growing up was Sachin Tendulkar, and my current favorite cricketer in the world is Ben Stokes (smiles)."

There were also a lot of theories revolving around how Virat Kohli got the No.18 jersey. On this, he added:

"My jersey number is 18 and there's no story behind this number (laughs). I had got this number when I got the U19 India jersey for the first time and that's basically how I started wearing 18."

Here's the video:

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Virat Kohli on how he got his nickname

The name 'Cheeku' became synonymous with Virat Kohli when MS Dhoni was the Indian captain. When Dhoni used to do the field placements from behind the stumps the stump mic often caught him calling Kohli as 'Cheeku'.

Explaining the reason behind the nickname and its origin, Kohli stated:

"My nickname is Cheeku because a state coach gave me that name because my ears are big. I had cut my hair very short one time and there was a comic named Champak with a rabbit character named Cheeku with big ears. It became famous because Mahi bhai started taking that name close to the stump mic."

Kohli also spoke about his favorite shot and the bowlers he has enjoyed facing over the years. He added:

"My favorite shot is the inside-out over covers, against the left-arm spinner. I first played that shot when I was 12 years old. One player I had great battles with would be anyone between James Anderson and Pat Cummins. We have had some really good battles over the years."

Virat Kohli recently smashed his 47th ODI hundred against Pakistan in the Super Fours stage of the Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo on Monday.