5 players who idolize Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli completed 14 years in international cricket on August 18. One of the greatest batters to have graced the sport, he has a massive fan following across the cricketing world.

He has played a major role in transforming the fitness culture in Indian cricket. His bold mentality of going for the win regardless of the end result has impressed fans and critics alike.

Kohli was India's most successful Test captain with 40 wins in 68 matches and was also good in the limited overs format. Understandably, playing alongside a cricketer of his stature is a dream for many. In this article, we take a look at five players who look up to Kohli:

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#1 Mohammed Siraj

Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has been one of Virat Kohli’s biggest supporters in the Indian cricketing fraternity.

Siraj has gone on record to say that he owes his entire cricketing career to his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper. He stated how Kohli has supported him through thick and thin and has given him the confidence to perform at the highest level.

His most iconic performance under Virat Kohli came during India's famous Test victory at Lord's in August 2021. He picked up four wickets each in both innings, taking the final wicket of the game to seal a memorable victory for Team India.

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#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul is currently one of the best all-format batters in the country. He has also captained the national team on a few occasions. He made his international debut against Australia in December 2014 in Melbourne, which happened to be MS Dhoni's last Test.

Rahul was upset after his failure in the first Test. Virat Kohli and his wife, Anushka Sharma, took him out for dinner in a bid to take his mind off cricket for a while.

The ruse worked, as KL Rahul responded in style in Sydney as he scored his debut hundred in what was Kohli's first Test as full-time skipper for India. The Karnataka batter has spoken multiple times about Kohli's legacy and how he looks up to the way he plays.

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#3 Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill is touted to be the next big thing in Indian cricket and has already made a few head turns with his performances for the Men in Blue. He has represented Team India in 11 Tests and seven ODIs.

Ahead of last year's World Test Championship final, Gill expressed how he wanted to be like Kohli. He credited Kohli for revolutionizing Indian cricket, and also mentioned how the youngster looked up to him.

Before his international debut, Gill also spoke about Kohli's leadership skills and how he set high standards after India's first Test series win in Australia.

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#4 Rajat Patidar

The Madhya Pradesh batsman made his IPL debut for RCB in 2021 – Kohli's last season as captain. However, 2022 was Patidar's breakthrough season in the league.

He scored 333 runs in 8 matches at a mind-boggling strike rate of 153. He became the first RCB player to score a hundred in the history of the playoffs.

After RCB were knocked out of the IPL in Qualifier 2, Patidar took to Twitter. "No feeling more special than learning from your idol. Grateful," he tweeted.

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#5 Yash Dhull

Yash Dhull and Virat Kohli share quite a few things in common. Both are Delhi lads who led India to Under-19 World Cup victories (in 2008 and 2022, respectively).

Dhull wants to be an all-format cricketer like Virat Kohli. He called Kohli a legend of the game and his inspiration after scoring a hundred on his first-class debut.

Dhull is keen to interact with his 'idol' on how to perform in crunch situations during big games and maintain the fitness standards that Kohli has over the past decade.