Virat Kohli turns 34: Read Delhi boy's 'survival of the fittest' journey

Along with his perfect strokes and on-field aggression, Kohli is widely known as one of the most fit cricketers in the blue jersey.

Kohli, who turned 34 on Saturday, was however not the quickest, fastest and fittest of the bunch back in 2008 when he made his debut for Team India.

On his birthday, India Blooms plays back Kohli's words where he patiently narrates how he transformed himself and slipped into a fitness regime that yielded success at the highest level of the sport.

In an interview with Graham Bensinger in 2019, Kohli remembered how indisciplined he was in terms of his eating habits and fitness.

Kohli said, "I was not disciplined at all in terms of eating and fitness. I can't even relate to that guy anymore that I was in those years. I myself feel like some other guy.

"Even after playing in the IPL and the highest level of cricket, I hadn't got the success that some of the established players did (back then). I really had a bad IPL season in 2012 and my eating habits were horrible in that season."

It was in 2012 when Kohli, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the T20 tournament Indian Premier League, introspected, realised and worked towards achieving the fitness goal.

Kohli said, "After coming back home, I came out of the shower, my team didn't do well, I looked at myself and I was like 'You can't look like that if you are an international cricketer. How the hell will you continue like that if you are an international cricketer'. Boom. From the next day onwards, I just changed everything about my diet."

"Hitting the gym two hours a day, just taking a day off in a week, eating proper lean food. I got away from all kinds of junk. I did not have a cheat day at all.

"Within eight-ten months, I lost about six or seven kgs and from then on, it became such an addiction because I saw the results on the field. I felt quicker, lighter, focussed," the former Team India skipper added.

Kohli, who is the highest run scorer in the T20 format, has the most number of international centuries (71) after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar who holds the record of slamming 100 hundreds.

With three fifties, Kohli is also leading the chart of most runs by a player in the T20 World Cup 2022, which is heading to the penultimate stage.

Kohli earlier this year stormed back to his lost form and went on to script a memorable victory for Team India against Pakistan in the World Cup with his unbeaten 82.

(Image Credit: Facebook/Virat Kohli)