How Virat Kohli was pranked into touching Sachin Tendulkar’s feet by India teammates and left them in stitches

Virat Kohli is an icon for Indian cricket fans and has consistently proved why he is one of the best players in the world.

Kohli will get one last shot at T20 World Cup glory as India captain, with the tournament starting this month, before he steps down from the role.

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There will be plenty of young players in the dressing room who look up to the 32-year-old, but there was a time when he was looking up to the senior figures of their national side.

Sachin Tendulkar is a hero for many in India and Kohli was in awe of him when they first met back in 2008.

The then 20-year-old came into the side and let slip that he was feeling nervous about meeting the genius.

His teammates decided to prank him and told him to must touch Tendulkar’s feet as a show of respect.

In an , Kohli said: “My first interaction with him was very funny. First interaction, I had prepared for two days only to meet him.

“To meet Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian dressing room. 

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“Now some guys found out… I must have spoken with someone about feeling nervous.

“They played a prank on me, telling me that all rookies. Have to pay their respects by touching Sachin’s feet. And I took them seriously.

“So I went to greet him. Just as I was about to touch his feet he says, ‘what are you doing?’

“I tell him, ‘they told me I had to touch your feet out of respect when I meet you’.

“He says, ‘no, no they are just pulling your leg’.

“So that was my first interaction with Sachin.”

Virat said that Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh were the ones who convinced him that he had to touch Tendulkar’s feet.

He added: “Munaf Patel was the biggest instigator. He had convinced me that if I didn’t do it then they wouldn’t guarantee for what would happen later.

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“So, I had to do it. I was completely brainwashed. But before approaching him when I was making up my mind on how I should do it I remember I was sitting directly opposite to him in the changing room and he was right in front and he was organising his stuff and I was just looking at him like this (staring).

“I took time to register the fact that what’s happening is true. There was no TV screen between us. So that was a very special moment.”

Tendulkar was understandably bemused by the incident and talked about it recently.

"I didn't know what was happening. I asked him 'what are you doing?'. Told him that there was no need for this and such things don't happen. Then he got up and we looked at those guys, they started laughing," Tendulkar said on YouTube show LegendsWithUnacademy.

India’s first game of the T20 World Cup is against Pakistan on October 24.