Virat Kohli, the India captain, has revealed he used to have a pack of eclairs, containing about 40 toffees, within “four-five days” during IPL 2012.
Kohli’s commitment to fitness is as heralded as his batting proficiency, but in his early years as an international cricketer, Kohli was any other fun-loving youngster. He has revealed how, during IPL 2012 – a year after the famous World Cup win in 2011, when he felt on top of the world – he would consume whole packets of toffees from the minibar before realising he had to do a lot better.
“2012 IPL, I came back home and saw myself, was disgusted,” Kohli told India opener Mayank Agarwal on Open Nets with Mayank. “I just wanted to change everything about myself. I also saw how the dynamics of cricket around the world were changing rapidly, and how I felt we were far behind in intensity levels as other teams. They were moving far ahead of us in terms of fitness levels.
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“ITC Gardenia, where we used to stay, they would have a packet of eclairs toffees in the minibar and they would refill it every time. I would finish a pack in 4-5 days’ time, and that was a pack of 40 toffees.
“That was my diet at that time, I was eating like a mad person, because that phase happened where I got all the success and everything was going well, and I went into the IPL thinking that I’m going to dominate.”
Royal Challengers Bangalore finished outside the qualifying spots for the knockouts in that edition, with Kohli scoring 364 runs in 16 matches at 28 and a disappointing strike-rate of 111.65. It was after that low that he decided to change the way he went about things.
“Kohli-Kohli!”
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“But that didn’t turn out well, and things didn’t process that way. Things happened, I did not appreciate and respect it then… I was thrown back down, then I went back home” he said. “I realized that I needed to change everything from the way I’m thinking and preparing.
“Changed it from the next day onwards when I came back home. From then on, my whole outlook towards how I want to prepare completely changed.”
