8 things you didn't know about Virat Kohli

Back in 2008, the world first saw a slightly chubby Delhi lad clad in the light blue national jersey, leading the Indian U-19 side with more dexterity and aggression than was expected from a 19-year-old. Slowly and steadily as the years passed, two things happened to this man. He shed a lot of weight and gained the love of an entire nation! He went through a sea of change that saw him transform from a brash adolescent to the responsible skipper of the Indian Cricket team. This man, ladies and gentlemen, goes by the name of Virat Kohli.

Cricket fans all over the globe are well aware of the innumerable records 29-year-old Kohli has made and broken, the number of times he's carried the weight of an entire nation's expectations on his shoulders and the instances when he's wielded his genius with the willow to guide his side to seemingly impossible victories.

Apart from being a prolific cricketer and an able role model for millions, there are many facets to the talented man that remain unknown to many. Come, let's take a look at 8 lesser-known facts about the Indian captain:

#8 His favourite cuisine is Japanese

Kohli is known to be a fitness freak. From slogging it out at the gym daily to encouraging his teammates to follow better health regimes, the Indian skipper is a stickler for good health. He's known to be extremely health conscious and maintains a well-balanced diet. Hailing from a Punjabi family, Kohli used to have oily foods like Chicken Butter Masala and Butter Roti as a part of his meals in the past. However, once he was selected to the national side, he gave up all these sinful delicacies to develop into a fitter person.

As Kohli has himself admitted in many of his interviews, he likes to have a little bit of everything in his meals coupled with ample exercise and workout, rather than maintain an overly restrictive diet plan. Amongst all food cuisines, the Delhi lad is known to have a weak spot for Japanese food, especially sushi. In fact, he's admitted to having so much love for the cuisine that if given the option, he'd be ready to eat it three times a day.

#7 His love for dogs knows no bounds

Kohli owns a beagle himself and is associated with an animal shelter in Bengaluru

Who doesn't love our furry little canine friends? Virat Kohli is definitely a big dog lover and doesn't miss out an opportunity to let the world know of his fondness. He can often be seen posting pictures and videos with his pet Beagle, Bruno, on various social media platforms. Apart from with his own pet, Kohli's often been snapped in adorable pictures while petting guard dogs on the sidelines of cricket fields.

Further, King Kohli is also proudly associated with a Bangalore-based animal shelter named Charlie's Animal Rescue Centre (CARE). In 2017, he paid a visit to the shelter and spent quite some time with its inhabitants. Soon after, Kohli's known to have passively adopted 15 dogs of the shelter, who were in desperate need of treatment and other facilities.

#6 His favourite subject in school was History

Virat hated mathematics in his school days

Many know that Virat Kohli was unable to complete his education as he had to continuously attend Cricket matches all over the country. He chose to make Cricket the ultimate priority of his life at a very young age and as a result, was never able to attend college. Kohli attended the Saviour Convent School in Paschim Vihar during the latter years of his school life, where he was observed as a 'bright and alert' child by his teachers.

However, not many know that Kohli was mortally afraid of Mathematics and loathed the subject. In a candid interview, he even went on to admit that he'd failed miserably in mathematics once, scoring an abysmal single-digit score. His favourite subject in school used to be History.

#5 He didn't name Sachin Tendulkar as his favourite player in his U-19 days

Time and again, parallels between batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have been drawn. Can he break Sachin's record of a hundred centuries? Can he score a century at Lord's, something that Tendulkar wasn't able to? The list of questions goes on and on. While Kohli has always acknowledged the cricketing maestro to be the ultimate source of inspiration and the reason why he took up the sport in the first place, there was a time when he named someone else as his favorite player ahead of Sachin Tendulkar!

Kohli, like all the other players, had shot an introduction video during the 2008 U-19 Cricket World Cup which was played every time he went out to bat. Surprisingly, in this video where Kohli introduced himself by saying his name and his batting specifics, he concluded by naming South African batsman, Herschelle Gibbs as his favourite cricketer. Odd, isn't it?

#4 His undying love for cars

The Indian skipper is known to own quite a few luxury cars

Virat Kohli is undisputedly one of the richest cricketers in the entire world and is consistently ranked amongst the most influential people in the country as well as the world, be the India Today Power List or the TIME Magazine's List of 100 Most Influential People. Kohli is known to have a soft corner for luxury cars and is known to own quite a few of the top-notch four-wheelers in the world. He's also the India Brand Ambassador for the renowned German automobile manufacturers, Audi.

The Indian skipper has a mind-boggling car collection, including a stylish Land Rover Range Rover Vogue which is said to be the most impressive car in his entire fleet. Apart from the Range Rover Vogue, he possesses 5 Audi cars, namely an Audi S5 coupe-styled sedan, an Audi R8 LMX version, a white Audi R8 V10, an Audi A8 L and an Audi Q7 45TDI. Last but not least, he owns a Renault Duster that he won as an award for being the 'Man of the Series' in an ODI Series in Sri Lanka as well as a lavish Toyota Fortuner 4X4 SUV.

#3 He gets along with kids like a house on fire

Kohli runs his own foundation to help underprivileged children

The goofy pictures that Virat Kohli posts with his nephew, Aarav, or with Harbhajan Singh-Geeta Basra's daughter, Hinaya, win our hearts every time we see them. His adorable video with MS Dhoni-Sakshi Dhoni's daughter, Ziva, went viral as we gushed over Kohli imitating a cat's meowing while playing with the toddler. Hence, it's only another adorable fact about Kohli that he gets along with kids like a house on fire.

In fact, Kohli even runs his own charitable foundation to help underprivileged children, who don't have access to a proper means of life. The Virat Kohli Foundation has affiliations with some of the biggest NGOs in the country, like the Smile Foundation to bring about a difference in the lives of deprived children. Last year, during the IPL, Kohli along with Shane Watson and AB de Villiers also paid a visit to Tamahar in order to meet and spend time with specially-abled children.

#2 The story behind his nickname "Cheeku"

Kohli's nickname came from a Hindi cartoon character

MS Dhoni can often be heard referring to Kohli as "Cheeku" from behind the stumps. While the name in itself is goofy and kiddish, what piqued the nation's interest was the story hidden behind this seemingly absurd nickname. Turns out, King Kohli had attained this nickname way before he started playing for India.

Apparently, Kohli had been playing in the Ranji Trophy for the Delhi side when he'd suddenly begun to suffer from a phobia of his hair falling out! As a result, he rushed to a nearby salon and returned with his hair cropped short. With big ears and an almost shaved head, Kohli's look seemed rather bizarre to his teammates and the-then Assistant Coach of Delhi, Ajit Chowdhury, jokingly commented that he resembled the cartoon character called "Cheeku", who was a rabbit in the children's comic book called "Champak".

Since then, the name has stuck and he's lovingly called "Cheeku" till date by the likes of MSD and Yuvraj Singh.

#1 He's an out and out feminist

Kohli won millions of hearts by apologizing to all women on International Women's Day

Virat Kohli is like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise oppressive patriarchal society that exists in modern-day India, in spite of all the progress that the nation has made. Kohli is amongst the handful of celebrities who choose to not shy away from being sensitive and vocal on pressing issues such as gender equality. In an interview, the cricketer urged everyone to be a feminist to counter the chauvinistic world we live in and acknowledged to being an out and out feminist himself.

What warms our hearts even more are the gestures he makes towards women to convey his respect towards the gender. Back in 2017 he posted a heartfelt apology instead of a dry, impersonal wish on International Women's Day and apologized to entire womanhood for "the jerks, the cat-callers and the stalkers". Kohli's always been appreciative of his mother, Saroj Kohli and his wife, Anushka Sharma, for having been the two pillars of his life.

From crediting his mother for being an extremely strong lady who brought him and his siblings up single-handedly after their father passed away to publicly acknowledging Sharma's role in having shaped his life, Kohli's unadulterated respect and admiration for women has only made us love him more.