Being a role model carries a huge responsibility: Virat Kohli

Indian star batsman Virat Kohli said that it is a great feeling to be the role model for the young generation but it also carries a lot of responsibility.

“Being a role model for the young people is no doubt a great feeling. When people come up and say that they look up to you and they draw inspiration from you, it means a lot personally. But it also carries a huge responsibility as everything I do and says affects a lot of people,” Kohli, who has been connecting personally with his fans via his fan club Fanbox, told IANS in an e-mail interview.

The Indian Test captain also mentioned the things he expects his fans to follow. “For me, discipline and hard work are top priorities. I am also passionate about learning, which means that I look at my past performance and wish to learn from my mistakes. These are some of the things that I hope get picked up by my fans,” Kohli added.

In 2014, British magazine SportsPro named Kohli as the world’s second most marketable athlete.

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The 27-year old said that there is not shortcut to success and no replacement for hard work as far as being successful in achieving one’s goals is concerned. “There is no substitute for working hard towards what you want to achieve – whether it is about success in your job or about winning a game or a tournament.”

He achieved yet another milestone recently after his Facebook fan following went past the 30 million mark as he said, “fans make you what you are”.

“They motivate me to do my best every time I am out on the field. I love connecting with my fans through social media but there is no substitute for a personal face-to-face meeting,” he said.

Kohli also launched an exclusive fan club in partnership with PrivyPlex in April. Over 35 selected fans got a chance to meet him last month in Gurgaon through the fan club, and more fans met him in Noida last week. “The whole point of Fanbox is for me to connect with my fans on a more personal level. It’s all about being there in the real life; so people can see and hear you right in front of them,” he concluded.