Indian captain Virat Kohli is widely rated as one of the best batsmen in the world, averaging above 50 in all formats of the game. His prolific record with the bat and his flamboyance in the middle as a batsman and in the field as a captain have all contributed in him becoming arguably the biggest star in the sport.

This is reflected in the fact that he was the only cricketer to feature in Forbes’ list of 100 highest paid athletes in the world. However, he said in an Instagram live video chat with his Indian teammate Ravichandran Ashwin that he would easily give away the fame so that he can go back to being a normal person.

“I love this sport and the opportunity to do something that can inspire people. Playing for your country is the biggest honour for any sportsperson,” he said on Reminisce with Ash.

“Having said that, if someone told me would you like to give all your fame, I would give it just like that. Because over a period of time you realise that, you are doing what is important, but you also need to be a normal person at the end of the day,” he said.

Kohli also felt that the restrictions that come with fame is higher today than it was for stars before him because of the proliferation of social media.

“When you speak of previous times, people had a lot more freedom to move around. There weren’t camera phones in your face all the time, scanning everything you are doing minute to minute everyday. I think both Anushka (Sharma) and myself are very comfortable being in our space at our homes doing normal things. Fame, too much attention, too much intrusion and interest into what we are doing all the time, that I don’t relate to.

“I think a part of it is that these things were not part of our lives growing up. We did not grow up with social media constantly in our lives so if we want to do it, we can easily get off social media if we like. Which might be very difficult for people who are growing up today. It’s a different time in our lives and yes, I would say just take it all away from me.”

The coronavirus pandemic has brought the entire world to a standstill and the sporting arena is no exception. Most of the high profile tournaments including the Tokyo Olympics 2020 stand postponed.

Even the biggest cricketing spectacle on the planet, the Indian Premier League (IPL), stands suspended indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, Bundesliga became the first high-profile sporting event to resume after a 65 day period with almost no sporting activity.

The move comes after governments are beginning to realise that the coronavirus is here to stay for quite some time and sports among other businesses will need to find a way to co-exist with it.

The virus has already infected close to 5.5 million people around the world while claiming over 3.5 lakh lives. There is still no sure shot treatment of the disease and social-distancing, self-isolation and maintenance of basic hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons of protecting oneself from contracting the infection.

(With inputs from IANS)