“My Eating Habits were Horrible” – Says Virat Kohli

On this day (April 18), 12 years ago Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli announced his arrival in the world of cricket. Also, on the same day, an IPL match was hosted for the first time. The opening game was held between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).?

From then Virat Kohli has changed a lot in terms of his batting skills, fitness, and maturity towards the game. Then, Kohli was a young player who had just won the Under 19 World Cup and was eyeing a place in the senior Indian cricket team. However, now 12 years later he leads the National team in all the three formats of the game. Notably, he is the most successful player in the modern era cricket.?

On Saturday, the official twitter handle of IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore uploaded a picture of Virat Kohli from his first-ever IPL match and he is almost unrecognizable.?

The post read, “#OnThisDay in 2008, a 19-year-old Virat Kohli made his debut for RCB against KKR! From being an exuberant young batsman to King Kohli, and now Captain Fantastic, it has been an incredible1??2?? years! Drop a??to congratulate Captain Kohli on his 1??2?? years with RCB!”

The journey of Virat Kohli from fat to fit

Virat Kohli is now an inspiration for millions of people across the world when it comes to fitness and well-being. However, he wasn’t the same from the start. Like others, he was also a chubby youngster but his determination to improve made him what he is today.?

In an interview with American journalist Graham Bensinger, Kohli revealed about his transformation and his inspiration behind it.?

Virat said, ?I was playing in the Indian team and the IPL but the 2012 season of the IPL was very bad for me. My eating habits were horrible at that time. I remember coming back home, coming out of the shower and looking at myself in the mirror and feeling disgusted,”

He further added, “I thought to myself: ?You can?t look like that if you?re an international cricketer. How are you going to continue like this if you don?t take care of yourself?.?And boom, from the next day itself, I changed everything about my diet. I started hitting the gym two times a day and kept away from junk food and had no cheat days at all. Within 8-10 months I lost six to seven kgs and then it became such an addiction because I could see the results on the field. I felt quicker, I felt lighter, I felt more focused and I realized that this is the path I wanted to take,”?

His dedication and hard work have made him a cricketing legend and a role model for his fans and teammates.