Many current and former Indian cricketers have massive fan following across the globe. Fans have emotional connections with them and they call their favourite cricketers by their popular nick names.
Mostly, the nicknames of the cricketers are given by their teammates and it is heard on the ground due to the stump mic.
Recently, a video has gone viral over various social media platforms in which many Indian cricketers themselves have revealed the origins and anecdotes behind their nicknames.
Former India captain MS Dhoni disclosed in the video clip that he was earlier called ‘Mahii’, but the name got tweaked when he entered the Indian team.
“My nickname is Maahi, it used to be Mahii but it was half of my full name but everybody started calling me Maahi so I thought it’s better off with one name. So I change it to Maahi,” said the Captain Cool.
Reminiscing about his childhood memory, Team India star batsman Virat Kohli said, “My nickname is Chiku. I got it because I have big ears and back in the day when I was chubby I cut my hair very short and one of our coaches in Delhi, told me you look like Chiku the rabbit from Champak comics, so that’s how I got the nickname and then it starts with me from there on.”
Among others, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin , all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane have shared stories behind their nick names. Former cricketers like Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh have also shared interesting anecdotes behind their nicknames.