Ever since his debut in the India cricket, the skipper Virat Kohli has redefined the way the India national cricket team now looks on the cricket field. In earlier years, India cricketers never gave much importance to their fitness. Considering this, they were not in the best of their form while on the field.
However, the current team is one of the best and arguably the fittest of all in the world. Only a few glitches are seen by the Indian cricketers on the field, and it can be considered as the only team whose players are flexible in all the three formats of cricket. Currently, the team is rising to the top with its performance in every sector of the game.
The credit for the important changing factor goes to none other than the fitness freak and present Indian skipper Virat Kohli himself.
Kohli reveals his ‘fitness’ inspiration:
The young aggressive cricketer kicked off his journey on the international cricket with a round chubby face. However, his bat spoke for his fitness then. Gradually, everyone noticed a change in his physical form while his batting techniques sharpened with time. Earlier, everyone thought the change in the fitness of the top-ranked cricketer is because of his then-girlfriend Anushka Sharma with whom he still shares his gym sessions.
But the former Indian trainer Shankar Basu has revealed that the cricket star was motivated to work on his fitness by another lady. He revealed that it was in 2014 when Virat saw Dipika Pallikal train that he got motivated. Dipika, meanwhile, was dating India cricketer Dinesh Karthik during those days. And then after a few months in 2015, both got married.
“The first two-three years, we used to train only in the summer during IPL. Actually, he got inspired after seeing Dipika Pallikal (squash player) train. He was astonished to learn about the demands of an individual sport. Then he asked ‘why can’t I do the same’,” Basu told reporters on Saturday.
Basu is the trainer of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He was speaking on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his Primal Patterns which is a holistic fitness studio and knowledge centre. Karthik and Dipika were also present on that occasion. Basu further insisted that Virat hasn’t scaled the peak of fitness yet.
“I think he can do a little more exploring,” said Basu. “As Kohli knows, the sky is the limit in fitness. I always used to tell him that ‘Usain Bolt and Novak Djokovic should be your idols and you have miles to go’. He is constantly looking for that extra edge; something extra to enhance his performance.”
However, the change in the tactics and fitness of the Indian cricketers is clearly visible on the field. Fitness is now a top priority for selection in the national side.