Virat Kohli reveals secret behind on-field success

Staying fit has gotten me results that I never thought were possible for me honestly, says India batting star

Indian batting star Virat Kohli has revealed the reason behind his exceptional rise in cricket in the last few years.

The 27-year-old recently broke a number of records in the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League records while his batting form for the national team had already been better than ever.

And what is the secret behind all this on-field success? Kohli believes it is his off-field fitness antics which help him perform better than anyone.

“How staying healthy helped me [in cricket] was that being physically active and healthy helps you think better, helps you make better decisions,” Kohli revealed. “It is not the thing that many people understand but that is the fact. Why do we train just before we go for a game because it releases positive endorphins inside your body, it helps you think better, it helps you feel good about yourself, it helps you feel positive.”

Kohli feels inactivity leads to negativity. “You know when you are just lying around and you are not doing anything, it is an invitation for negativity. All you can think about is things that are not going well with you,” he said.

And when did the superstar feel that keeping himself fit can change the entire picture? Kohli says he realised it in 2012.

“In the middle of 2012, just after the IPL I realised that I need to make changes in my physical condition and in my fitness levels because I never wanted to be an average player,” he said. “I understood that if I want to be among the best in the world, I need to be as fit as I possibly can be.”

Kohli said he was never a healthy eater as he belongs to a Punjabi family. “And that was a lifestyle choice because I wasn’t a healthy eater before that obviously coming from a Punjabi family background,” he explained. “You know while growing up what you eat; parathas with butter is the kind of stuff I have grown up on.”

The right-hand batsman says eating healthy and staying fit helped him become a better cricketer on the pitch.

“It started to become more about food, more about the physical aspect of things,” he said. “It has gotten me results that I never thought were possible for me honestly. And it gave me more belief mentally because I knew I am fit enough to execute. It was the perfect balance that I was able to strike.”

Virat Kohli was quoted by NDTV