Was a party animal, used to drink regularly: Virat Kohli makes shocking admission

Virat Kohli admits how a chat with Duncan Fletcher helped him to get rid of bad diet and alcohol.

Virat Kohli without any doubt is the fittest cricketer of Indian cricket. His fitness is one of the talking points besides his captaincy and batting. His fitness keeps him match fit for all three formats. But the handsome Indian Test captain was never like things and even he was not a fitness freak rather he was like average Indian cricketer who relies on their talent than their fitness. Fielding and running between the wicket were never great but Kohli has become a youth icon to the young generation of India. His fitness reflects on the field when his fielding often overwhelms the Indian fans.

He and Indian limited over captain MS Dhoni, one of the fittest men of Indian cricket, often make opposition fielders’ time at the field tough. But, Kohli before becoming one of the fittest men of Indian cricket used to eat bad and gulp one or two pegs of alcohol. He in a candid chat with former Indian coach Duncan Fletcher disclosed his sin before he went on to become one of the fittest cricketers of the world.

Kohli has taken the issue of fitness seriously after an ordinary IPL in 2012. He changed his daily diet and training regime completely. He realized that to survive in all three formats of the game one needs to be fit. His conversation with Fletcher also helped.

“Duncan told me once that he feels cricket is the most unprofessional of professional sports,” Kohli told The Telegraph while talking to former England captain Michael Vaughan after India won the second Test in Vizag in the five-match series against England.

“You can have the skill but do not think you need to train as much as a tennis player. But I realized if you want to stay on top playing three formats in this day and age you need a routine. “You need a set pattern of your training, the way you eat, how healthy and fit you need to be. Being fitter made me mentally stronger. It was like a direct connection,” India batting starlet recalled.

“It changed in 2012. I had great tours to Australia and scored 180 against Bangladesh and went into the IPL thinking: Wow this is going to be a great season for me.  I wanted to make it my tournament and dominate the bowlers. I really struggled.

“My training was horrible, I ate so bad, I was up until late, I was having a drink or two regularly. It was a horrible mindset. The season ended and I was so thankful it was over. I went home, came out of the shower one day and looked at myself in the mirror and said you can’t look like this if you want to be a professional cricketer,” Kohli said.

“I was 11 or 12kgs heavier than I am now, I was really chubby. I changed everything from the next morning from what I eat to how I train. I was in the gym for an hour-and-a-half every day. Working really hard, off gluten, off wheat, no cold drinks, no desserts, nothing. It was tough.

Virat had to sacrifice tasty food for the sake of fitness. But his determination worked as he has become one of the fittest cricketers in the world.

“For the first two months, I felt I wanted to eat the bed sheet when I went to sleep because I was so hungry. I was craving the taste. I was craving delicious food. But then I saw the results. I felt quick around the field. I would wake up in morning and feel like I had energy,” Kohli admitted.

Kohli often posts his training image on twitter and facebook said since 2015 he has changed the training process. He started lifting the heavier object.

“From 2015 I changed my training again. I started lifting, snatching, cleaning, and deadlifting. It was unbelievable. I saw the result. I remember running after a ball in a Test series in Sri Lanka and I felt more power in my legs. It was, like, ‘wow’. This training is addictive. The last year-and-a-half it has taken my game to another level,” he explained.

He believes to success in overseas conditions one has to be the fittest person. “One of the things I would love is for this team to win series outside India, not just in one place but everywhere we go. For me, it is not winning one Test match and saying we made history and then not being able to follow that up. I want us to be the fittest Indian team that has played the game as well.

“That is our goal to be become better people along years of playing together. Friendships to last. Most exciting thing is everyone is young building careers together. If things fall in the right place this could be a great phase for us,” he added.