The last 18 months or so have been literally owned by a genius around called Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper has piled up milestones after milestones just for the sake of fun and has taken his game to an unparalleled next level. In terms of being a modern-day batting genius and a master, Kohli has become a complete benchmark. It comes as no surprise that the batting sensation is amassing records like a daily routine.
A massive factor behind this Bradmanesque form has been Kohli’s niche towards improved fitness levels. He is an ardent gym fanatic who loves sweating out the calories in a bid to remain fit. Doing so has reaped magnanimous dividends for him as due to his fitness being extraordinary, his game has ascended to the very next level.
Post his double-century against Bangladesh at Hyderabad, Kohli cited his fitness as the reason for getting to big scores.
“I worked on my fitness level over the years and I feel I can go for longer periods now. I don’t get tired as much as I used to before. Definitely, I don’t get satisfied when I get a Test hundred which used to be before, because I used to give too much importance to Test cricket separately. Now I have started to treat it as any game of cricket and I have to keep going on till the time the team needs to,” said Kohli.
Citing leadership as another reason, Kohli added:
“I don’t know, I think it is because of captaincy that you tend to go on more than what you usually would as a normal batsman. I think the room for complacency is no more present when you become captain. So, that has something to do with me playing long innings.”
“I have always wanted to play long innings and my first seven or eight hundreds were not even 120 plus scores. After that I made a conscious effort to bat long and control my excitement or not be complacent at any stage,” Kohli further stated.
The right-handed batting genius also mentioned that being in the right frame of mind is a critical aspect.
“I think mentally you need to focus and think about what you are going to do in the game. Switching to different formats is the need of the hour in these days’ cricket. I certainly want to contribute in all three formats. That has always been the mindset and I have to prepare in a certain way. It is more mental than going into the nets,” he concluded.