Kohli on a cricketer's life in India and comparison to Sachin Tendulkar

"It is part of being a cricketer in India. It is part of the package that people love you. If you run away from it, it is going to haunt you, pressurise you and pull you down," Kohli told Vaughan in an interview with the Telegraph, on the pressures of playing for the cricket-crazy country of India.

Getting mobbed on the streets is a common occurrence for Indian cricketers, who are seen as gods in the country, and it can be a hassle to live life as a normal person. Planning a meal is an effort on its own, as Kohli explains.

"I clearly remember after a World T20 game in Mohali against Australia this year. I felt people were reacting in a different way towards me, they looked at me as if I was walking in a circular light or something.

"I came out of security in the airport and there was this one guy who came up to me. I told security to calm down. He stood next to me and said ‘show me your hands’. I held them out and he touched them and it was as if a flow of current went through his body. I said ‘bloody hell’. I was so embarrassed. I think he thought I was Superman or something,” Kohli remarked in the interview.

It wasn't always this rosy for the Indian Test captain. In the early parts of his career, he struggled with inconsistency and a couple of bad overseas tours brought him back to ground zero. Kohli averaged a minuscule 13.40 during the 2014 tour of England, and on his return back, he went back to training and took the help of the Tendulkar to get his technique right.

“I came back (from England) and went to Bombay for 10 days. I spoke to him(Sachin). He spent time with me. He said he had watched me in England and he helped me with a few technical things that are important at this level in terms of getting a good stride in, always having intent when playing the ball and never being unsure of what to do at the crease.

“We ended up speaking a lot during that phase. Those things worked out for me. Then I spoke to him about preparation. I said in Test cricket I see a lot of guys batting in the nets, they want to hit 200-300 balls before the game. He told me the importance of mentally staying relaxed. If you do not feel like hitting the ball, don’t hit it. Do not look at other people having a great net session for long hours, go off, try and do the same thing and come out frustrated. That helped me a lot," said Kohli about Sachin's influence on his batting.

Kohli finds his solace only when he is on an overseas tour where he can enjoy the "little things" in life.

"In India it can be difficult to control it. So when you go to play Australia or South Africa I usually do not make plans with anyone. I just walk around to get a feel of what it is like to just walk down the street. It is amazing. It is the best thing ever. I just put my music on, walk and go nowhere in particular. It is best thing in the world to be able to spend some time alone with myself,” he told Vaughan reported the Telegraph.

“I tried to fight it initially(the comparison). This country loves comparisons. The moment I started doing well I was already compared to him but it is like chalk and cheese in my book. People come up and have debate and say you can break his records. You fight it for a while. You think why me? There are 10 more people in the team why do I have to go through this?

"There was so much persistence from the fans letting them know what they wanted from me. I stood on the boundary and all they say is they want a century from me. But then I realised that over a period of time you set those benchmarks and those standards for yourself,” he said.

The Indian Test skipper said, “I am very expressive as a person that comes out on the field and is more to do with the fact I am not in control of all things and I get frustrated. It is something I want to improve on.

"I have curbed down celebrations with milestones [centuries, fifties]. It feels like this is what I am supposed to do so why show much excitement? It is what I am picked to do,” reported the Telegraph.

“The Rajkot game was good for us. We were challenged. We knew this England team would show resilience and character and there were alarm bells for us in the first Test. It was good that happened early in the series.

"We can’t afford to play loose cricket with this England team at any stage and we need to tighten the screws if we get a chance. In the second game we did that. We capitalised and got the result we wanted. It has gone well so far but in the past we have let the momentum go away from us. But this team is focused to carry it forward,” he concluded.