Virat Kohli reveals the story on how he attained supreme fitness

At the moment, it is difficult to find a fitter batsman in world cricket than Virat Kohli. The 28-year old Indian skipper has transformed from the seemingly fun-loving schoolboy to the greatest modern-day batsman in the world. What has been one of the most impressive aspects of the whole ordeal has been the fact that the Indian skipper’s fitness has improved astronomically in recent times.

One can remember when Virat Kohli ran the length of an Indian victory against the Australians in what was perceived as a knock-out encounter against Australia at the PCA in Mohali. Kohli first went on to reveal the statement that went on to change his life rather significantly.  “Duncan told me once that he feels cricket is the most unprofessional of professional sports,” Kohli told The Telegraph.

“You can have the skill but do not think you need to train as much as a tennis player. But I realized if you want to stay on top playing three formats in this day and age you need a routine. You need a set pattern of your training, the way you eat, how healthy and fit you need to be. Being fitter made me mentally stronger. It was like a direct connection,” Kohli recalled.

Virat Kohli also went on to reveal the time he decided to make a drastic change in his career. “It changed in 2012. I had great tours to Australia and scored 180 against Bangladesh and went into the IPL thinking: Wow this is going to be a great season for me. I wanted to make it my tournament and dominate the bowlers. I really struggled.”

“My training was horrible, I ate so bad, I was up until late, I was having a drink or two regularly. It was a horrible mindset. The season ended and I was so thankful it was over. I went home, came out of the shower one day and looked at myself in the mirror and said you can’t look like this if you want to be a professional cricketer.”

“I was 11 or 12kgs heavier than I am now, I was really chubby. I changed everything from the next morning from what I eat to how I train. I was in the gym for an hour-and-a-half every day. Working really hard, off gluten, off wheat, no cold drinks, no desserts, nothing. It was tough. For the first two months, I felt I wanted to eat the bed sheet when I went to sleep because I was so hungry. I was craving the taste. I was craving delicious food. But then I saw the results. I felt quick around the field. I would wake up in morning and feel like I had energy.”

“From 2015 I changed my training again. I started lifting, snatching, cleaning, and deadlifting. It was unbelievable. I saw the result. I remember running after a ball in a Test series in Sri Lanka and I felt more power in my legs. It was, like, ‘wow’. This training is addictive. The last year-and-a-half it has taken my game to another level,” he explained.

“One of the things I would love is for this team to win series outside India, not just in one place but everywhere we go. For me, it is not winning one Test match and saying we made history and then not being able to follow that up. I want us to be the fittest Indian team that has played the game as well.

“That is our goal to be become better people along years of playing together. Friendships to last. Most exciting thing is everyone is young building careers together. If things fall in the right place this could be a great phase for us,” he added.