"Ma'am, I will be the next Sachin Tendulkar" - School teacher reveals star Indian batter's childhood dream

Virat Kohli's school teacher has revealed that the star batter used to say he would become the next Sachin Tendulkar of Team India during his younger days. Vibha Sachdev, Kohli's class teacher in 8th standard, remarked that Kohli's confidence made everyone smile.

Kohli studied at the Vishal Bharti Public School till 9th standard. Shedding light on the former India captain's schooling days, here's what Sachdev commented on the school's official website:

"His eyes were very expressive. Virat was an active participant in all the school activities, he was an enthusiastic and eager participant of all the interhouse activities. 'Ma'am, I will be the next Sachin Tendulkar of Indian Team' was the oft repeated quote, yes at that time sometimes it made us smile at the sheer grit and confidence of the wide eyed boy."

The school teacher described Kohli as an above-average student. Speaking about the cricket star's academic record, she added:

"Virat always scored well in his exams. He was an above average performer and the only time he would lose a few marks was when his practices took his time away. ‘I prepared for my exam late after I came back from my practices.'Was something that we used to hear very frequently from him. He worked very hard to excel in both sports and academics and the teachers at Vishal Bharti Public School, Paschim Vihar fully understood his struggle and cooperated with him by giving him added guidance."

From dreaming of being the next Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli went on to sharing the dressing room with the Indian batting legend. The pictures and videos of Kohli carrying Tendulkar on his shoulders after the Men in Blue's 2011 World Cup triumph remain etched in the memories of cricket fans.

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Virat Kohli surpassed his idol Sachin Tendulkar to become the player with most ODI centuries

Virat Kohli scripted history at the 2023 ODI World Cup. He notched his 50th century in the format, scoring 117 runs in the crucial semi-final against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

He broke Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record of 49 tons to become the player with the most number of hundreds in ODI cricket. It is worth mentioning that Tendulkar was present in the stands when Kohli completed his 50th century.

While celebrating the achievement, Kohli bowed down to the 'Master Blaster'. The former India captain's century tally currently stands at 82. It remains to be seen if he will be able to get near Tendulkar's feat of 100 international centuries or not.