Indian skipper Virat Kohli might be inspiring a million across the world with his fitness regime, but the cricketer also had someone else for inspiration, as far as his fitness training is concerned.
According to former Team India trainer Shankar Basu, it was India’s star squash player Dipika Pallikal, who is also the wife of India cricketer Dinesh Karthik, who inspired Virat Kohli to go the extra mile in his fitness training.
Speaking to Times Now, Basu said: “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 said ‘why can’t I do the same’.”
The 31-year old is undoubtedly the fittest cricketer in the world right now but Basu believes that there is there is still room for improvement.
“I think he can do a little more exploring,” said Basu.
“As Virat 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,” added Basu.
But Kohli wasn’t someone who was known for his fitness in his initial days of international cricket. It was after the 2011 World Cup, Kohli understood how important the fitness aspect is in modern-day cricket. It was Kohli who made BCCI make the yo-yo Test in Team India’s conditioning camps necessary.
Despite playing non-stop cricket across formats, Kohli has hardly complained of any fitness issues.
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