What does it take to be as fit as Virat Kohli?

Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik shares the details about Virat Kohli’s fitness journey and how discipline plays such a key role in his success.

Star Indian batter and former all-format captain Virat Kohli’s physical transformation has been a pretty well covered topic in sports media over the years. Kohli went from being a chubby food-obsessed guy in his first few years in the national team to a dedicated fitness freak who micromanages his body and goes to extreme lengths to take care of his health.

The knock-on effect of it has been so massive that several players in the Indian cricket team also got inspired by his discipline and started training with intensity and discipline. As a result, fitness has now become a key cornerstone in the senior national side and something that every senior and youngster aspires to achieve.

In this way, Kohli wants to make a more professional game and the success of his physical transformation has had a positive effect on many international cricketers as well. In fact, his fitness has also improved his game with the bat and especially in the field.

Talking to renowned commentator and presenter Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz, Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik pointed out the fact that Kohli wasn’t particular about his fitness and nutrition early on in his career.

Discipline has been a strong mantra in his life and he has also worked on his impulses and taken greater care of his nutrition.

“Number one and the first word that I will put is discipline. Second thing, fitness is not about just and only hitting the gym or running. It is a lifestyle. So what you put into your mouth is as important as the amount of workouts and running you do and that is where Virat Kohli is brilliant. He was a foodie, he used to enjoy all sorts of fatty foods, sweets, just like all of us," Karthik said.

“But he put a massive cut on all of that so that he can become the cricketer he wants to be and that’s the sacrifice you need to make. Have a look at the bigger picture and say if that is what I want to be in 5-10 years’ time, I need to cut down on certain things in my life that I am doing right now. That’s the decision he’s taken and you can see the results that have followed," he added.

The journey to where he is now was hardly easy given that healthy eating and training didn’t come to him naturally. Being a boy from Delhi, Kohli was a massive foodie and continued to splurge on meals in the early stages of his career.

However, with time, he learned how to make some serious changes to his eating habits as well as lifestyle and he got a lot of support from the trainer of the Indian team, Shankar Basu, in his attempts.

Karthik also went on to praise and laud Kohli for his commitment to his game and the sacrifices he makes on a regular basis in order to be a better cricketer. He is someone who follows his fitness regime and diet plans even during tough times in his life and career.

“It is a great case of not giving up because when he’s had his bad run, things weren’t going his way, the one thing he consistently kept doing is training and eating well. So there are many moments during that when his mind says it’s okay, do something that you’ve probably liked before, stay happy. But he has given up on that, sacrificed on that, hoping that one day it will come to use and these are the kind of days when he’s batting on 130, 140, needs to take that quick single," Karthik further added.