Fitness freak Kohli was a man on a mission

Amid the torrent of runs Virat Kohli scored in all conditions, won India matches from tough situations and achieved success as Test captain, the biggest impact he has left even beyond Indian cricket is the fitness culture he initiated.

- Sanjeev K Samyal

MUMBAI:

It is one area where India players used to lag behind when up against South Africa, England, Australia or New Zealand (SENA). After he decided to take the fitness plunge early in his career, with focus on diet and workouts, Kohli became a role model. He inspired the dressing room and that gave India the edge on the field. The team got fitter, faster and agile, and began competing better with players from these SENA countries.

India's former strength and conditioning coach Shanker Basu was the driving force behind this change. Kohli has always showered praise on him for the role this former sprinter has played in his career.

Though Kohli decided to get serious about fitness after the 2012 Australia tour, Basu introducing him to scientific training after joining as the India team's trainer in 2015 led to a transformation. As Kohli walked into Test retirement, Basu reflected on his best work. Excerpts:

On Kohli's transformation

He is the first cricketer who decided to train like an Olympic athlete. He didn't want to train with oft-repeated methods; he wanted to do something different. Our relationship goes back to 2009. He is a very good student. He will have a lot of questions initially, and once he was convinced he will go in that direction. The sign of a good leader is that first he will turn into a role model, which Virat did with aplomb.