Picture Credit: BCCI
When it comes to health and fitness in cricket, Virat Kohli is the first name that pops up in everyone's minds. The Indian captain has become an inspiration for all the young budding sportsmen in the country to take care of their health and has become an epitome of fitness. The kind of high standards he has set for his other teammates is actually surreal which has now become a benchmark to get into the side.
However, Kohli was not born with this kind of attitude. There was a time when the talented cricketer would eat anything and everything without worrying about the same. In a conversation with Dinesh Karthik, the Indian skipper shed light on his old eating habits and what prompted him to change his lifestyle.
I used to eat everything back then: Kohli
Reflecting on his earlier days of career, Kohli shed light on the times he used to spend with his friends and eat outside at a local Chinese restaurant named Chuck-Chuck Mail in Delhi. "I was very chubby... I used to eat everything back then, chicken fried rice was my regular with chilly chicken," revealed Kohli. While the 32-year-old admitted that he does miss those days, he added that he feels lucky to realize what he needed to change in his lifestyle to keep playing at the highest level.
Talking about the moment that changed his life and career, Kohli revealed that it was after IPL 2012 where he felt ashamed to see himself in such a bad shape in the mirror. This is when the youngster realized that he needed to change his lifestyle and he never looked back ever since. "Everything about my diet and training changed from next day onwards and it became an obsession," said Kohli.
I talked to Sachin before Australia tour in 2014: Kohli
The 32-year-old also talked about one of the darkest phases of his career when he had a shambolic tour of England. Kohli said, "I went back home. I was down quite a bit. The great thing that happened at that time was I realized who is with me and who is not." He added that this was the time he called Sachin Tendulkar and asked for his help as he wanted to get his game right. Few months later, Kohli scored 692 runs in Australia, including 4 centuries and silenced his critics in style.