Chennai: Growing up in the era of Sachin Tendulkar, India's star batsman Virat Kohli finds it difficult to imagine an Indian team without the Master Blaster.
"For 23 years, he has taught us how to perform with expectation of so many people. He taught us how to handle the pressure in tough time. It is unbelievable. Growing up, I could never imagine a team without Tendulkar but someday, one needs to take decision on retirement," the 23-year-old batsman told NDTV.
“We will always miss him in our dressing room. Sachin was the one who made me listen to old Hindi songs of Kishore Kumar. He is a great fan of Kishore Kumar and he often listens to other beautiful melodies of old English songs and now we realize that how much soothing that music was not just for ears but also for mind,” added Virat.
“As far as I am concerned, I am listening to Swedish House Mafia a lot these days apart from popular Punjabi numbers.I enjoy listening R&B. Certain Punjabi songs excite me so I listen to them before the match.”
Adding further, Virat said, “Players like Sachin, Dhoni and Yuvraj are a source of inspiration for everyone in the dressing room and it’s great to see when people expect so much from them and they try everything to live up to the expectation of their fans and cricket lovers all round the world. Every moment for me in an Indian dressing room is like a new lesson with new day where I have so much to learn from these great players.”
He termed Yuvraj Singh as "an elder brother" whose courageous comeback to international cricket after fighting a rare germ cell cancer was an "inspiration."
"Courage and mental strength are two things that one can learn from Yuvraj. The challenges that he has faced in life and career is something that one can learn a lot from them not just recovering from disease but getting back in a shape of athlete is a very tough task and Yuvraj did it quite well."
Meanwhile, Kohli feels that one quality that he wishes to absorb from his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the art of "staying calm" in pressure situations. His composure is what Kohli admires a lot.
"One thing I like about Dhoni is his calmness. I wish I could have some of it. He is someone who doesn't disclose too much which would let opposition know about what's going on in his mind. Wish I could get some of it," Kohli said.
Sunil Gavaskar has compared him with Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi stating that the youngster has the same "flair and panache".
When he was asked on that then Virat said,"I feel humbled when you are compared with a legend like Nawab of Pataudi by another legend of all times Sunil Gavaskar."
Although there weren't too many questions on the team's performance in recent tournaments, Kohli felt that the new ODI rules will be "helpful for batsmen in the sub-continent" while "bowlers will find it beneficial outside the sub-continent."