You need to be a normal person at the end of the day: Kohli on fame

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."