Team India pays respect to late Nelson Mandela

Indian vice-captain Virat Kohli, on behalf of the entire team, paid tribute to the late former president Nelson Mandela on Saturday.

"Our condolences to his family and everyone related to him. We were shocked when we got to know about it, late after the game on Thursday," he said.

Late on Thursday evening, South Africa was thrown into a solemn mood when it was announced that Mandela had passed away at the age of 95. The entire country is in mourning, for this is their biggest loss as a society.

"It was a very sad feeling, I was shocked and I didn’t really know that he was ill," said Kohli.

"It was a sad moment for everyone, all around the world, he has changed the face of this country and the change he brought about was something that no one else had done before. Not having the great man around is not a good feeling because he has done a lot not only for South Africa but all around the world for people everywhere," the Indian batsman added.

Doing its bit to honour Mandela, Cricket South Africa had on Friday declared the ongoing ODI series versus India a 'dedication' to him.

Photograph: Mark Wessels/Reuters