Kohli, considered the trendsetter of modern-day fitness in Indian cricket, underwent a dramatic transformation after a sub-par IPL 2012, changing his diet completely, and overhauling his fitness regime.

However, even as the shredded physique translated into an increased hunger for runs, not everyone was happy with the new and improved Kohli, who switched from a chubby-face youngster to a lean and mean run machine.

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“My mom used to tell me that I am becoming weak. That is a very regular thing, any mother would say – ‘You’ve become so thin. You don’t eat anything’,” Kohli recalled. “They [mothers] don’t understand the difference between having concern and having professionalism about a sport you’re playing.”

Kohli, who, in an interview in 2016, admitted to eating unhealthy and “having a drink or two”, went off gluten, wheat, cold drinks, desserts, surrendering himself to the gym for “an hour and a half every day”. The results showed on the field, but his mother kept prodding him out of concern, which even “annoyed him at times”.

Moms be like 😅

Listen in to what @imVkohli's mother thought of him when he started his fitness regime.

More such fun stories on #OpenNetsWithMayank, coming up soon on https://t.co/Z3MPyesSeZ@mayankcricket pic.twitter.com/WSYyBUIBeh

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 23, 2020

“If the child is not looking chubby, that means there’s something wrong with him or he is sick. So I was always like I am not sick. Every second day I had to convince her that I am not sick and I am doing this because I want to play. It’s for my discipline. It was so difficult to convince her.

“That was funny at times but also annoying at times because you are following a regime and next day when you wake up and hear that ‘Tu toh beemaar lag raha hai’ [you’re looking sick]. And you feel like you worked hard for an entire day, just to be called ‘sick’!

“Anyway, it was so tough. I felt I wanted to eat just about anything in front of me, it was so hard to control myself. But yeah, good times.”