India captain Virat Kohli is known as much for his fitness as for his ability with the bat. Kohli wasn’t always fit and toned like he is now, and the switch happened after the IPL 2012. In an interview to Dinesh Karthik for Sky Sports, Kohli opened up about the events that triggered a fitness turnaround.
“I was very chubby… still I’m very fond of food,” he recalled. “But luckily I understood exactly what I need to do to stay at this level till the time I play. I still miss those days, they’re not out of my memory. I talk to my friends back home, about those days when we used to finish practise and go to this mini Chinese food van and just smash whatever we like without caring about anything.
“I used to eat everything back then, chicken fried rice was my regular with chilly chicken.
“It (the turnaround) happened in 2012. The lead up to the IPL 2012 was interesting because I had scored my first Test century in Australia, followed by that game against Sri Lanka in Hobart where we chased that total down within 40 overs. That came out of nowhere honestly, I did not believe I could do something like that at the international stage. It game me so much belief.
“And then I scored 183 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, on a Sunday when everyone was watching. Things changed so much for me in just six months, but I forgot the basics of the game. I started getting more desperate and went too far ahead of myself.
“I thought, this IPL I’m going to dominate everyone. But the moment IPL started, a few games which didn’t go my way and my mindset completely dropped to the other side.
“I was eating anything that came inside. I was finishing candy packets, 40 pieces, three packets a week. I was eating and sleeping horribly, my habits were all over the place. I finished the IPL, I remember I went home, came out of the shower, saw myself in the mirror and I was ashamed.
“Literally, I saw myself and thought I was looking at another human being. Then I told myself, if you want to play cricket at the highest level, this is not the way you can manage.
“Everything about my diet and training changed from the next day onwards and it became an obsession.”
